Afghanistan’s all-rounder Gulbadin Naib caused a major controversy during the final Super Eight match of the 2024 T20 World Cup against Bangladesh at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent.Gulbadin was accused of cheating during the game, with his apparent bout of cramps sparking the spirit of cricket discussions.
During the 12th over of the second innings in a rain-affected match, Bangladesh fell behind the DLS par score by just three runs after three consecutive dot balls from Noor Ahmad. A light drizzle occurred during the over, and Afghanistan’s head coach, Jonathan Trott, a former England cricketer, signaled the players to “slow down” while pointing towards the sky. At that very moment, Gulbadin, who was standing still at the slip, fell to the ground, clutching his hamstring owing to a cramp.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan was not happy with what the commentators alleged as a ‘time-wasting’ technique, but to Gulbadin’s effort, it did work as no more deliveries were bowled with covers being brought on. Had the remainder of the match been washed out, Afghanistan, who were in a rather tricky position in the chase with Bangladesh opener Litton Das having notched up a fighting half-century, would have won on DLS.
“However, in a dramatic turn of events, the covers came off in a few minutes. Gulbadin was back on the field as well and he picked up a key wicket before Naveen-ul-Haq snared the final two, helping Afghanistan secure a thrilling win by eight runs.”
Moments after the win, Gulbadin’s act came under the scanner on social media, especially after the all-rounder was seen running wildly in celebration of Afghanistan reaching their first-ever semifinal in an ICC tournament. However, Rashid cleared the air after the match saying: “He [Naib] had some cramp. I don’t know what happened to him and I don’t know what’s going on in social media but that doesn’t matter… It’s not something that brought a massive difference in the game. We came back on the field after five minutes, and there was no massive difference.”
