ball tampering: During the T20 World Cup 2024, former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq made a shocking claim against Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh, indirectly accusing him of ball-tampering.

Referring to Arshdeep's performance against Australia, 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? It means the ball was ready to reverse swing by the 12th or 13th over. Umpires should keep their eyes open to recognise these things. If it were Pakistani bowlers (reverse swinging the ball), it 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 wrongdoings were done earlier.”

India's highest wicket-taker in the ODI World Cup 2023, Mohammed Shami, has reacted strongly to these allegations. Shami too faced similar allegations during the 2023 World Cup, when former Pakistan player Hasan Raza claimed that India was using different types of balls by installing a device to give Shami extra swing.

“I had said in an interview that I will cut the ball to show if there is a device or not. Now they have come up with another example. They said, 'How can Arshdeep Singh get reverse swing?' I just want to say one thing to Inzamam bhai. I respect him a lot. If you do the same thing, isn't it ball tampering? Those who perform well against them become their target. Because India and Pakistan are arch rivals,” Shami said on a YouTube channel.

He further said, “I don't expect such statements from former players. Even Wasim Akram told how the umpires provide the ball, which makes it impossible to attach any equipment to it. Such false claims are made to mislead people.”