Haris Rauf accused of ball tampering© AFP
There just doesn’t seem to be an end to Pakistan’s problems at the moment. After the humiliating defeat against USA in their T20 World Cup 2024 opener, Pakistan star Haris Rauf has been accused of tampering with the ball during the match on Thursday. Former South Africa pacer Rusty Theron, who is a member of the USA senior national cricket team at present, took to social media, tagging the International Cricket Council (ICC), making a serious accusation against Pakistan veteran speedster Rauf.
Rauf was poor with the ball against USA, bagging just 1 wicket in 4 overs while conceding 37 runs. During the match, Theron claimed that the express pacer ran his nails through the new ball, hoping to get it to reverse and bamboozle the American batters.
Theron wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “@ICC are we just going to pretend Pakistan aren’t scratching the hell out of this freshly changed ball? Reversing the ball that’s just been changed 2 overs ago? You can literally see Harris Rauf running his thumbnail over the ball at the top of his mark. @usacricket #PakvsUSA.”
@ICC are we just going to pretend Pakistan aren’t scratching the hell out of this freshly changed ball? Reversing the ball that’s just been changed 2 overs ago? You can literally see Harris Rauf running his thumb nail over the ball at the top of his mark. @usacricket #PakvsUSA
— Rusty Theron (@RustyTheron) June 6, 2024
No official complaint from the USA team seems to have been made on the incident yet, though the allegation remains quite serious.
As for the match, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam threw his bowlers under the bus, suggesting they should’ve been able to deliver better against the USA team, though defending a mediocre total of 159.
“We are better than that in bowling, we were not able to take wickets in the first six overs. In the middle overs, your spinner is not taking wickets then pressure is on us. After 10 overs, we did come back but I think the way they finished game in the Super Over, the credit goes to the US team,” Babar said in the press conference after the match.
Pakistan next face their arch-rivals India in a bid to make a comeback in the tournament.
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