Former Australian batsman Usman Khawaja has come to the defense of Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq following a controversial moment in the second T20I against Australia.
The incident of the second T20I occurred in the final delivery of the 11th over of Australia’s innings when Tariq bowled a full delivery.
Green tried to sweep on one knee but the ball ended up being a regulation catch to Shadab Khan.
On his way back to the pavilion, Green, who scored a top-scoring 35 off 20 balls, expressed his frustration at Tariq’s “slinky” move by mirroring the throw towards the dugout.
Khawaja took to his Instagram and shared a detailed video of an Australian journalist discussing the incident in his story.
“There is nothing worse in cricket than being called a ‘chucker’. The stigma is real. The man is doing his best and got busted twice. Let’s get some perspective and understanding and stop jumping to conclusions,” Khawaja wrote in support of Tariq.
This is not the first time that Tariq’s bowling has come under scrutiny. The spinner was announced during PSL 9 and 10, but his action was officially cleared on both occasions.
Tariq, who made his T20I debut for Pakistan in November last year, faced similar criticism in the past when he represented the Desert Vipers in the ILT20 last year.
During the qualifier against MI Emirates, Tom Panton suggested that Tariq’s delivery was “thrown away”.
In response, the spinner explained the unique structure of his elbow, which restricts full extension.
“My elbow has two corners that are hard to straighten completely,” he said.
“Whenever spinners face allegations of chucking, they often change their action after lab tests. I underwent two official tests in Pakistan and my action was cleared. I didn’t have to change anything because I knew I wasn’t bowling.”
The right-arm spinner has been reported for questionable bowling action twice in his career, but was cleared both times by an ICC-accredited biomechanics laboratory last year after being tested over 24 balls.
comments