India captain Rohit Sharma has opened up on the ball-tampering accusations made by former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq on Indian bowlers. Inzamam accused Indian bowler Arshdeep Singh of tampering with the ball during India's Super 8 clash against Australia in the T20 World Cup 2024 in St Lucia.
The Indian team defeated the Aussies by 24 runs while defending 205 runs. Rohit Sharma was the star with the bat, scoring 92, while the bowlers also did good work to restrict the Aussie side to 181.
On Inzamam's accusations, Rohit advised that people should apply their minds. "What answer will I give? If you are playing under the sun and the wickets are this dry, the ball will reverse on its own. The ball is reversing for all teams. Not just for us. Sometimes, it's important to open your mind (use your brain). You have to understand where we are playing. We are not playing in England or Australia," Rohit said in the pre-match press conference ahead of the semifinal clash against England.
Inzamam had accused the Indian fast bowlers of ball tampering. "Arshdeep Singh, when he was bowling the 15th over, the ball was reversing. is it too early (for reverse swing) with the new ball? This means the ball was ready for reverse swing by the 12th or the 13th over. Umpires should keep their eyes open (to spot) these things.
"If it was Pakistani bowlers (reverse swinging the ball) this would have been a big issue. We know reverse swing very well and if Arshdeep can come in the 15th over and start reversing the ball, it means some serious work had been done before," Inzamam said.
"Because for reverse swing … look Bumrah can do it, because of his action; but for some bowlers – their action and their speed, the ball has to be in that perfection condition and prepared well [to reverse]. It could be that the wicket was hard and rough, that could be the reason [for the ball getting scuffed up on one side], but these things have to be noticed," he added.
