Ahead of India’s T20 World Cup semifinal against England on Thursday, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma hit back at Pakistan legend Inzamam ul Haq who had made a ball-tampering allegation against left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.
Inzamam raised doubts over Arshdeep’s integrity after the Indian bowler got reverse swing in the 15th over of the Australian innings in the Super Eights clash, which India won by 24 runs while defending 205.
India reached the semifinals after the comprehensive win, while Australia were knocked out of the tournament following Afghanistan’s win over Bangladesh.
But the former Pakistan raised question marks over Arshdeep’s ability to get reverse swing with a semi new ball.
“If Pakistan bowlers did this, there would have been hue and cry. We know how to reverse it really well. If Arshdeep can reverse it in the 15th over, there’s been some serious work done on the ball,” Inzamam said during a television programme in Pakistan.
“If Bumrah does it (you can understand), his action is like that. When others with a specific action or speed do it, it means the ball has been prepared in a special way.”
Rohit responded to Inzamam’s claim during the pre-match press conference in Guyana.
“If you are playing in such warm conditions and the wickets are this dry, the ball will reverse on its own,” the Indian captain said.
“The ball is reversing for all teams. Not just for us. You know sometimes, it’s important to use your brain. You have to understand where we are playing. Matches are not taking place in England or Australia. We are playing on dry wickets in the West Indies in warm conditions. So it’s natural to get reverse swing. Not just India, every team is getting reverse swing.”
India will take on England in the second semifinal today at 6:30 pm UAE Time. The winner of this contest will take on South Africa in the final on Saturday.
South Africa beat Afghanistan in the first semifinal by nine wickets.