Ex Chief of Pakistan Board On "Suspicious Balls" Accusation Against India
The dominance of the Indian cricket team in the Cricket World Cup 2023 has been such that some retired cricketers have been left scratching their heads, wondering how Rohit Sharma's men have done so well, both with the bat and the ball. Former Pakistan cricketer Hasan Raza has even accused the Indian team of cheating, suggesting the home team has been using different balls when they bowl in comparison to when they bat. Responding to such accusations, former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja praised the Indian team, saying India's dominance with both the bat and the ball is "jaadugari.”
Hasan Raza had said, accusing the Indian team of cheating, "We are seeing that when they are batting, they bat really well, and suddenly the ball starts doing things when India bowls. There have been 7-8 close DRS calls that have gone in their favor. The way Siraj and Shami were swinging the ball, it seemed like the ICC or the BCCI were giving them different and suspicious balls in the second innings. There needs to be an inspection of the ball. There could also be an extra layer of coating on the ball for swing."
In response, while praising team India's ability, Ramiz said, "Yes, it can happen that when Pakistani batsmen are batting, the cricket ball seems as small as a golf ball to them. That is the only difference. I don't think there's any other difference. Ye jaadugari hai. This controls swing and seam movement. This is greatness. This is a skill; we should appreciate this skill because, at the end of the day, when players like these emerge, the level of cricket goes up. They are setting up the level; other teams have to reach their level. When a sub-continent team is doing this, why can't Pakistan do this?"