Another chapter has been added to the cold war rivalry between Rohit Sharma and Inzamam-Ul-Haq it seems! Former Pakistan captain sparked major controversy by questioning how India managed to get the ball to reverse swing early in their T20 World Cup match against Australia. Inzamam particularly pointed to left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who reversed the ball in the 16th over. This became huge talking point, with Indian skipper Rohit Sharma responding in kind.
Rohit Sharma’s rebuttal
Rohit Sharma rubbished the claims of ball-tampering, attributing the reverse swing to the hot and dry conditions. He emphasized that reverse swing was a natural phenomenon happening for all teams and not just India. However, in his last sentence, Rohit claimed, “Sometimes people need to open their minds and think.”
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Inzamam takes offense to Rohit’s remarks
Inzamam seemingly took offense to Rohit’s suggestion to “open his mind,” implying that Pakistan, the pioneers of reverse swing, needed any schooling on the topic. Under the leadership of Imran Khan and then Inzamam, countless Pakistani pacers exhibited remarkable displays of reverse-swing bowling.
Inzamam retorted, stating that Rohit’s comments indirectly confirmed his observations about early reverse swing. He further argued that Rohit didn’t need to explain the conditions for reverse swing to a nation that introduced the technique to the world.
Inzamam clarifies his stance
Inzamam clarified that he never accused India of ball-tampering. He maintained that his intention was simply to alert the umpires to keep a close eye on the ball due to the unusual timing of the reverse swing. The back-and-forth did not affect India’s performance. They went on to defeat England by a massive margin and booked their place in the finals against South Africa, who also secured their first-ever World Cup final appearance.
