Australian all-rounder Mitch Marsh, whose team was eliminated as a result of Afghanistan's win, described Naib's actions as "one of the funniest things I've ever seen on a cricket field."
Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib sparked some debate in the cricketing fraternity when he allegedly attempted time-wasting tactics due to what appeared to be an injury. Following the same, Australia T20I captain Mitchell Marsh brushed down on the controversy surrounding his actions. It was raining when Afghanistan’s head coach, Jonathan Trott, passed out a message advising the team to slow down the game. Following the same, Gulbadin Naib fell to the ground, holding his hamstring in the slip area.
In addition to this, Bangladesh fell a bit in the DLS par score at that moment in time. As Naib was receiving treatment, Afghanistan did manage to save some crucial minutes. However, the rain got heavier, and the players had to leave the pitch. Afghanistan would have been named winners, with Naib’s actions having an enormous impact on the events if play hadn’t continued after that halt. Bangladesh may have been able to surpass the DLS par score if he weren’t considered “injured” and had a chance for at least one more ball. However, there was no impact of the controversial mode of play on the match.
Also Read: Gulbadin Naib feigns injury to slow down game at coach’s request
Naib’s collapse was ultimately brushed off by Afghan captain Rashid Khan after the win, but the incident raised questions, particularly in light of Naib’s energetic performance later on. However, Aussie captain Mitch Marsh, whose side failed to make it to the knockout stage owing to Afghanistan’s win, hailed Gulbadin Naib’s actions as “one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen on a cricket field.”
“I was almost in tears laughing and at the end of the day it had no bearing on the game. So we can laugh about it now – but gee it was funny. It was outstanding,” Marsh told cricket.com.au.
“We watched it as a group. It was obviously a pretty amazing game wasn’t it? A lot of twists and turns. Obviously you want to keep playing this tournament and that was our only way of doing it. But there’s also the element that it was completely out of our control and we only had ourselves to blame for that,” Marsh added.
To further fuel the blaze, the 33-year-old Afghan star posted a picture of himself and the team physiotherapist on social media with the caption, “Wonders can happen.” In spite of the dispute, Naib is likely to make a full recovery from his reported injury and be able to play in the semifinals.
The incident has spurred debate over gamesmanship in cricket. Some think Naib’s acts are clever tactics, but others think they are unsportsmanlike. However one’s opinion, there is no doubting that the incident has given Afghanistan’s historic World Cup campaign a whole new level of wonder.
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