of cricket The world condemned Afghanistan’s unsportsmanlike conduct. T20 World Cup This has once again sparked the “spirit of cricket” debate. With a place in the World Cup semi-finals at stake and rain looming, Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott drew the ire of cricket fans around the world when he shockingly signalled his players to waste time on the DLS system after they had just led by two runs.
Australia’s loss to India on Monday gave Afghanistan and Bangladesh a rare chance to reach the last four of the tournament and beat Australia. Afghanistan would progress to the knockout stage if they won the match, but Bangladesh needed a quick win to progress. After Australia lost to India by 24 runs, Bangladesh needed to beat Afghanistan, but they needed to do so within 45 balls to reach the last four.
Afghanistan on Tuesday completed their historic T20 World Cup campaign in Australia, but rather than celebrating the incredible achievement, the cricketing world was reduced to condemning the national team for their unsportsmanlike behaviour.
In a rain-affected match, Afghanistan had a two-run lead over Bangladesh through the DLS system when rain began to fall after 11.4 overs. As the rain threatened to get heavier, Afghanistan coach and former England international Jonathan Trott signalled his team to slow down, hoping that the rain would get too heavy before bowling the next ball.
Shortly afterwards, Gulbuddin Naib, who had been stationary at first slip, inexplicably fell backwards clutching his hamstring and claimed to have suffered a serious injury. Failure to play would have meant Afghanistan would advance ahead of Australia. As Naib was carried off the field, the umpire called a halt to play, citing heavy rain.
But the attempt to fake an injury to push through didn’t work and even Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan was seen berating his players for their unacceptable behaviour, with commentator Simon Doul unable to believe what he was seeing.
“Oh no no, sorry. This is unacceptable,” he said. “I don’t accept it. Even Rashid (Khan) hates it. This is just stalling. I understand that, but I don’t like it at all. It’s unacceptable.”
“They may have been dismissed anyway because of the rain but it’s not a good look. I know football has the Euros going on and that would be better,” while England cricket great Michael Vaughan wrote to X: “The spirit of cricket is alive and well…” and the cricketing establishment was similarly unimpressed by the “disgraceful” behaviour.
Afghanistan have no shame in wasting time just to qualify. Pathetic. Can’t wait for South Africa to send them back to Dubai.
— R. (@rafftakes) June 25, 2024
Absolutely pathetic for Gulbuddin, Afghanistan and their coach Jonathan Trott. There are legitimate ways to win matches and they should do that instead of this nonsense which goes against the spirit of the game. https://t.co/qAOBnLimPh
— Mahi (@kexo654) June 25, 2024
Despite leading on a DLS par score, Afghanistan engaged in unsportsmanlike conduct by deliberately delaying the match and faking injuries (shame on Gulbuddin and Jonathan Trott). đź’¦
— Zan (@RakitaMode) June 25, 2024
THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE❌
This is a cheating act from Afghanistan❌Bangladesh had scored 81 runs before the rains arrived, just two runs off the par score, but Gulbuddin Naib averted a victory for Bangladesh at DLS.
Once a cheat, always a cheat pic.twitter.com/oEnVPlcFCP
— Imran Siddiq (@imransiddique89) June 25, 2024
Afghanistan advances to T20 World Cup semi-finals
However, the outcome was not decided by Afghanistan’s questionable actions as the rain subsided and the match continued, with Afghanistan bowling out Bangladesh for 105 after 17.5 overs and ultimately winning one of the most back-and-forth cricket matches in recent history by eight runs.
However, the result was not well received by fans as a player who was clearly in pain and needed help leaving the field not only miraculously managed to return but also took the penultimate wicket, which proved to be a crucial turning point.
After the scalping, commentator Ian Smith said: “He’s had some problems with his knee for the last six months. He’ll be seen by Gulbadin Naib’s doctor straight after the match. He’s the eighth wonder of the world.”
Meanwhile, Vaughan wrote to X, “It will be fantastic if Gulbuddin becomes the first player in cricket history to take a wicket 25 minutes after being shot.” Afghanistan will face South Africa, who have reached the semi-finals every year, for a place in the finals.
It was incredible to see Gulbadin become the first player in cricket history to take a wicket 25 minutes after being hit…
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 25, 2024