New Delhi, India

Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq made heads turn with a bizarre claim about India pacers, pointing fingers at Arshdeep Singh, for consistently tampering with the ball during the ongoing T20 World Cup, in West Indies and the USA. Inzamam opined that Indian bowlers have been altering their match balls to aid reverse swing. Indian pacers Arshdeep, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya have been among the wickets for Rohit Sharma-led Men in Blue, being key contributors in India's unbeaten run so far in the 20-nation mega event.

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Arshdeep is India's highest wicket-taker (15 scalps), second-overall, whereas Bumrah has 11 wickets to his name (eighth-overall). Even all-rounder Hardik has claimed 8 wickets in six outings. Seeing Bumrah-led Indian pacers' stupendous run, Inzamam made a bizarre claim during a recent chat show.

Inzamam, along with another former Pakistan skipper, Saleem Malik, drew reference to Arshdeep's reverse swinging deliveries on a live show for a Pakistan news channel during Rohit-led India's Super 8 clash versus Australia on June 24 in St. Lucia. 

Both the former Pakistani cricketers opined that the 14th or 15th over of a game is too soon for a pacer to get reverse swing. Arshdeep got a hint of reverse swing during the 16th over of Australia's unsuccessful 206-run chase (where they only managed 181-8 and lost by 24 runs after Rohit's strokefilled 41-ball 92).

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Thus, Inzamam said, "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."

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Also read: T20 WC: 'If they win....' - Former Aussie spinner makes BOLD claim for SA ahead of Afghanistan semifinal

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To this, Malik joined in and stated, "Inzy, I always say this, eyes are kept shut when it comes to some teams, and India is one of those teams. I remember in Zimbabwe, when Wasim (Akram) was bowling, he made it wet, and we all were surprised at it; as in how come one side was wet, and when I went and complained I was fined quite heavily."

Notably, it isn't the first time that former Pakistani cricketers have come out with absurd claims, targetting Indian bowlers. During the 2023 ODI World Cup, in India, ex-Pakistan player Hasan Raza claimed the hosts used some chips inside the ball, indirectly pointing fingers at Mohammed Shami's exceptional run.

India will face defending champions England in the second semifinal of the T20 WC on Thursday (June 27) in Guyana. Meanwhile, South Africa and Afghanistan will square off in the first semifinal, in Trinidad on Wednesday (June 26, local time).