Rohit Sharma hits back at Inzamam over insinuating India tampered with ball

Inzamam had pointed out that Arshdeep Singh managed to reverse the ball in the 15th over, which is unusual

PHOTO: AFP

Indian captain Rohit Sharma responded to former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq's comments on India's ability to reverse swing the ball early during their Super 8 match against Australia in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Ahead of the semi-final against England, Rohit urged critics to understand the playing conditions before making claims.

"What answer will I give? If you are playing under the sun and the wickets are this dry, the ball will reverse on its own. The ball is reversing for all teams. Not just for us. Sometimes, it's important to open your mind You have to understand where we are playing. We are not playing in England or Australia," Rohit Sharma said.

Inzamam had pointed out that Arshdeep Singh managed to reverse the ball in the 15th over, which is unusual. He suggested that the umpires should be vigilant about such occurrences and mentioned that if Pakistani bowlers had done this, it would have raised concerns.

“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,” Inzamam said on a local news channel.

“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.

“Because for reverse swing … look Bumrah can do it, because of his action; but for some bowlers – their action and their speed, the ball has to be in that perfection condition and prepared well [to reverse]. It could be that the wicket was hard and rough, that could be the reason [for the ball getting scuffed up on one side], but these things have to be noticed.”

India's victory against Australia helped them secure a spot in the semi-finals where they will face England in Guyana on Thursday.