Former Pakistani cricketer, Hasan Raza, has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to scrutinise the balls used by the Indian team during the ongoing Cricket World Cup. His comments followed India's defeat of Sri Lanka by 302 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, which guaranteed their semi-final slot. Raza has alleged that the balls are being tampered with, which is giving the Indian bowlers an unfair advantage.
Posting a formidable 357, India ousted Sri Lanka for a meagre 55, with Indian pacer Mohammed Shami achieving his second five-wicket haul in the tournament, and Mohammed Siraj taking three early wickets, disrupting the top order of the Sri Lankan side.
Raza believes that many tight DRS calls have gone in India's favour, and that facing Shami and Siraj is like facing some of the greatest pacers of all time.
"It's difficult to understand this. When India are batting, they are playing well. But when India are bowling, other teams are struggling. Some of the DRS decisions have gone in India's favour to, around 7-8 DRS calls have been very close and all have gone in their favour. But today we saw a different level of aggression from the Indian bowlers. When Shami and Siraj are bowling, it seems like we are playing against Allan Dolland and Makhaya Ntini back in the days," Raza said during a discussion on ABN News.
Raza, notorious for his alleged involvement in match-fixing, has further alleged that the ICC or the BCCI provides some Indian bowlers with special balls. This, Raza believes, is what allows these players to obtain extra swing, even on batting-friendly tracks. Caught in a sting operation by Al Jazeera once, Raza’s credibility has often been questioned.
"It seems like the ball gets changed in the second innings. I think the ICC, umpire or the BCCI is giving a different ball to the Indian bowlers. The side batting first scored 350 and were all over the chasing team. The way Mohammed Shami bowled his first ball, even Angelo Matthews was stunned. During our playing days, there was only one ball which was utilised, and had both swing and reverse swing," the 41-year-old added.
Raza went on to say that the ICC should conduct rigorous inspections of the balls used by India in Cricket World Cup matches.
"I think the balls should be checked. I know there are two new balls for bowlers bowling from each end, but they have taken three slips in an ODI match. Even KL Rahul was struggling to pouch the ball behind the stumps. It seems that there is an extra coating of laquer in the balls. I think the opposition teams should inspect the balls," Raza concluded.
Raza's comments have been met with skepticism from many quarters, including former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra who slammed Raza, calling his antics during the debate "comedy."
"Is it a serious cricket show? If not, please mention ‘satire' ‘comedy' in English somewhere. I mean…it might be written in Urdu already but unfortunately, I can't read/understand it," Chopra posted on X.
India are currently sitting top of the Cricket World Cup points table with seven wins in as many outings. They have been the most impressive team in the tournament so far, and are the clear favorites to win it all.
India's next match is against South Africa at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.