Former Pakistan cricketer Sikander Bakht has raised doubts about India skipper Rohit Sharma’s coin-tossing technique in the current World Cup. Bakht questioned Rohit’s intentions, suggesting that Rohit might be attempting to gain an edge by tossing the coin far away from the opposing captain.
Speaking to Geo News, Bakht said, “Shararat kar sakta hoon? Mai ek sawal kar raha hoon agar hum dikha sake toss ke waqt. Rohit Sharma jab toss karte hai vo dur fenkte hai aur dusra captain jaa ke kabhi nahi dekhta ki vo sahi usne call kiya, [I am asking one question. If we can show it…At the time of the toss, Rohit Sharma throws the coin far from the range of any opposition captain. And, the opponent never cross-checks about the call].”
Bakht has also shared a snippet of his interview on X, formerly Twitter. Along the clip, he asked, “Very strange the way Rohit Sharma throws the coin at the toss, far away, don’t let other captains see, compared to other captains in the WC, any reason?”
This startling claim surfaced after Team India captain Rohit won the toss during the semifinal against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
However, Bakht’s suggestion did not go down quite well with former Pakistan greats like Wasim Akram and Moin Khan.
Reacting to the conspiracy theory, Akram, during A Sports’ show ‘The Pavillion’, said, “Ye kisne kaha hai ki usne waha par coin fenkna hai? Vo toh sponsorship ke liye hai, dikhane ke liye hai. Coin kahi bhi chala jaye, [Who decides where the coin should land? It is just for sponsorship, coin can go anywhere], I feel embarrassed.”
Moin Khan also did not support Bakht’s theory. “Koi aisi baat nahi hai, mera khayal galat bola unhone, [This is not true, I think he is mistaken]. He is just creating a fuss, that’s it, nothing else. Because, har captain ka, har player ka alag tareeka hota hai coin uchhalne ka. Koi kareeb uchhalta hai, koi door uchhalta hai, [Every captain has a different way of tossing the coin], there is nothing in that,” he said on the same show.
Coming back to the on-field developments, India defeated New Zealand by 70 runs to qualify for the World Cup final. Chasing a mammoth total of 398, the Kiwis folded for 327. South Africa and Australia will fight for the remaining final berth today in the second semi-final.
The World Cup 2023 final will be played on Sunday.