There seems to be no end to the Mohammed Shami vs Pakistan saga. Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt has now rebuked the Indian pacer for his potshots against Inzamam Ul Haq. Shami recently took a dig at Inzamam after the latter made some baseless remarks on Arshdeep Singh’s bowling performance in the ICC T20 World Cup.
Inzamam claimed that India had apparently “worked on the ball” which saw Arshdeep‘s bowl reverse swings. Shami hit hard at Inzamam and rubbished all claims of India working on the ball. In reply, Salman Butt came back to Shami for his rebuttal.
Below the Belt attack from Shami?
“Mohammed Shami’s comments targeted Inzamam-ul-Haq. He targeted Inzamam by speaking about Pakistan picking their team based on personal relations, and I think this is wrong. This is wrong because if you look at Imam’s record, he came into the Pakistan team on the basis of his performance. He was also dropped when he failed. Shami’s remarks were below the belt and he shouldn’t have said such things,” Butt said.
Rohit Sharma was the first player to refute the claims during the tournament. In the pre match press conference, Rohit claimed that the slow pitches in USA made the ball swing both ways. Arshdeep’s different variations in bowling speeds also worked in favour of the bowler.
“Yes, there was a controversy, which should’ve been avoided. A lot of people made statements, Inzamam also said something, Rohit Sharma also clarified, and the topic was over. But to say things about selecting players just because they are relatives is a dirty hit. Such things don’t suit Mohammed Shami. He is a renowned bowler, like how Inzamam was a renowned captain,” Butt concluded.
Mohammed Shami was a class apart in the ODI World Cup. Despite being benched in the opening games, he came back strongly to finish the tournament as the highest wicket taker. But since the ODI World Cup, Shami underwent an ankle injury. The Ace speedster is currently recovering and will be keen to be back in the National Team.
