Team India skipper Rohit Sharma came up with a response to former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq's bizarre reverse swing allegations against Arshdeep Singh ahead of T20 World Cup 2024 semifinal at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Thursday, June 27.
Inzamam-ul-Haq accused Arshdeep Singh of tampering with the ball for reverse swinging in the death overs during India's Super 8 match against Australia in St. Lucia. The former Pakistan batter thinks that India had done some serious work on the ball to reverse swing it that impacted the game's outcome. The video of the same went viral on social media.
At the press conference on the eve of the semifinal against England, Rohit Sharma was asked about the serious allegations against Arshdeep Singh by Inzamam-ul-Haq. He responded that it is natural for the ball to reverse swing as it's hot in Caribbean and the wickets are dry. He added that Inzamam-ul-Haq should understand on which conditions the teams are playing.
"Is mein kya jawab du bhai? Jab aap itne dhoop khel rahe ho aur wickets bhi dry hai , ball reverse aapne aap ho jayega. Sab team reverse swing kar rahe hai. Sometimes, thoda dimaag ko kholna bhi jaruri hai aur samjhna bhi zaruri hai ki kaunsa conditions mein hum khel raha hai. Hum thodi England aur South Africa mein khel raha hai." India skipper said.
Translation: What should I say? Since there is so much humidity and the wickets are dry, the ball will reverse on its own. Every team is reverse swinging. Sometimes, it's also important to open the mind a bit and understand the conditions in which are playing. We are not playing in England or South Africa.
Arshdeep Singh was one of the instrumental players in India's 24-run win over Australia in their final group stage fixture. He picked a wicket of David Warner in the first over before removing Matthew Wade and Tim David in the 18th over to register the figure 3/37 with an economy rate of 9.25 in his four overs spell.
Arshdeep Singh is leading wicket-taker for India in T20 WC 2024
Arshdeep Singh has been one of the key players in Team India's campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024 so far. He is the leading wicket-taker for the Men in Blue and overall second after Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqi, with 15 wickets at an average of 11.86 and an economy rate of 7.41.
Arshdeep Singh's best bowling figures came against the co-hosts USA, where he picked four wickets while conceding just 9 runs at an economy rate of 2.25 in four overs. It was the best bowling figures by an Indian bowler in the history of T20 World Cup 2024.
Arshdeep Singh will look to impact make an again when India take on England in the 2nd semifinal of the tournament. The Men in Blue will look to avenge their 10-wicket thrashing at the hands of the England in the previous edition of the tournament.
