[VIDEOS/Pictures] Should Afghanistan be penalized for allegedly faking an injury to slow the game down?

[The Bald Eagle]

‘Oscar winning performance’: Gulbadin Naib accused of ‘faking injury’

The final T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 Group 1 match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh was marred by dramatic scenes and controversy, as Afghan player Gulbadin Naib was accused of deliberately feigning an injury to delay the proceedings.

With Afghanistan ahead by 2 runs according to the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method when the third rain interruption threatened to stop play, Naib, fielding at first slip, suddenly clutched his hamstring and went down, sparking outrage among commentators and fans alike.

The “dramatic” incident occurred as light drizzle started at the Arnos Vale Ground, and Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott was seen instructing his players to “slow down the game”, aware that a rain delay would put Afghanistan on course to reach the semi-finals.

However, Naib’s actions were met with widespread criticism, with commentator Simon Doull blasting the Afghan all-rounder for his “cheap trick”.

“I do get what the coach was trying to say and sending a message a message but this is unacceptable delaying tactics,” Doull said on air

Even Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan was left unimpressed with Naib’s tactics.

The incident sparked a heated debate on social media, with many calling out Naib’s actions as unsportsmanlike and unacceptable.

Replays clearly showed that Naib had deliberately gone down, and despite being carried off the field by Ibrahim Zadran, he was back on his feet and running once the game resumed.

But Naib’s act was the perfect fodder for social media:

R Ashwin wrote, ” Red card for Gulbadin Naib

 

[Mohraheem]

Who cares?

Bangladesh bottles this and pakistanis are hating the fact that afghanistan is ahead of them in this icc tournament

Naaaa that’s only u

 

[Snowflake]

A fine and/or 1 game ban should suffice. Those comparing this with Rizwan's acting are missing a critical difference - Rizwan's acting does not have any meaningful impact on the result of the game. He only does these for show and to play to the gallery; which is quite annoying tbh.

Naib's actions could cost the opposition the game in an unfair manner.

Cricket has gotten away with such dirty tactics for far too long - umpires need to put their foot down at some point.

 

[Devadwal]

 

[thelandofthebravepeople]

A fine and/or 1 game ban should suffice. Those comparing this with Rizwan's acting are missing a critical difference - Rizwan's acting does not have any meaningful impact on the result of the game. He only does these for show and to play to the gallery; which is quite annoying tbh.

Naib's actions could cost the opposition the game in an unfair manner.

Cricket has gotten away with such dirty tactics for far too long - umpires need to put their foot down at some point.

Rizwan does it to gain advantage as well. It's even worse because he does it to score runs. Everytime he get's tired he relaxes by these antics.

 

[GillEdits]

Gulabdin Naib is the culprit here.. and it was clearly after Trott's signal to slow the game down.
Should ICC Take any action?

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Why can't we just appreciate the 2nd best team of Asia???
They won it on their own, plus that faking the injury doesn't change the outcome of the match.
They deserve every appreciation.

 

[jnaveen1980]

A fine and/or 1 game ban should suffice. Those comparing this with Rizwan's acting are missing a critical difference - Rizwan's acting does not have any meaningful impact on the result of the game. He only does these for show and to play to the gallery; which is quite annoying tbh.

Naib's actions could cost the opposition the game in an unfair manner.

Cricket has gotten away with such dirty tactics for far too long - umpires need to put their foot down at some point.

This also did not affect. Besides almost all the teams have resorted to time wasting tactics in Tests. Srilanka is master of it. Just that Gulbadin lokoed amateurish doing that. HE obviously had no prior experience with delay tactics. Rashid khan disapproved of his action. So end of story. For me it is one of the most hilarious meme-worthy incident. Nothing more.

 

[Mockingbird]

A fine and/or 1 game ban should suffice. Those comparing this with Rizwan's acting are missing a critical difference - Rizwan's acting does not have any meaningful impact on the result of the game. He only does these for show and to play to the gallery; which is quite annoying tbh.

Naib's actions could cost the opposition the game in an unfair manner.

Cricket has gotten away with such dirty tactics for far too long - umpires need to put their foot down at some point.

You all noticed Naib’s antics, but nobody noticed Liton Das ordering gloves to be changed just before another spell of rain when they were ahead on the DRS…

Point is that every team does it. Just that Naib was comically blatant about it (I am convinced he interpreted Trott’s hand gestures to go slow to mean go low ). Plus this did not affect the outcome of the match. So just move on with a chuckle.

 

[mominsaigol]

Pakistan were doing perfectly fine until Fakhar Zaman showed that one track mind fans’ favorite words “aggression” and “intent” is not always the solution.

They were also doing fine until Imad showed everyone how big a fraud he is and how terribly wrong his deluded fans were about him. Also, the less said about Shadab and Iftikhar the better.

Pakistan lost that match in the second half of the innings, not because of the way Babar and Rizwan batted.

“Against Bangladesh”

Don’t hide behind terms and conditions now. SR is entirely dependent on match situation and conditions. Showing aggression and intent aren’t always the right thing to do.

Afghanistan's bowling won it for them, not the batting. If Afghanistan had lost people would have torn apart the batting left and right.

Afghanistan won because of rashid khan who's been the best player for Afghanistan this tournament.

Those 2 wickets sealed the deal and Bangladesh's tail is horrificly weak.

Before that Bangladesh was dominating 80% of the game. The batting was dreadful. The openers shouldn't be competly blamed as Afghanistan' s middle order also collapsed like a house of cards but it was a bad batting performance by Afghanistan.

 

[AAli98]

Taliban 50 Lashes incoming

 

[Mohraheem]

Taliban 50 Lashes incoming

Hope Misbah, Ifthikhar and slow tuktuk players are on that list

 

[Major]

Gulbaddin actually thank his physio on social media
What a troll

 

[RidiculousMan]

 

[RidiculousMan]

Now this is just shameful.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1805533396140949772

All fun an games before (if) ICC decides to handover a ban to Gulbadin for a game.

 

[Cover Drive Six]

He is running faster than all the team members.

 

[RidiculousMan]

He is running faster than all the team members.

He wouldn't even be in the frame if he had not pulled his hamstring.

 

[rhony]

It was disgraceful. However it's not the first time. We've seen batsmen faking injury to get a runner. We've seen players faking cramps to slow down the game or take a breather. It was all blatant but ICC did nothing as there is no tangible way to prove or disprove the injury.

 

[Major]

All fun an games before (if) ICC decides to handover a ban to Gulbadin for a game.

They cant.

You need to provide proof that he was faking it and he can come up with a witness and any kind of report to claim he was injured

 

[JaDed]

That was highlight of the game for me, such a hilarious memory now .
Rashid definitely thinks everyone is a damn embarrassment in his team

 

[Mamoon]

Afghanistan's bowling won it for them, not the batting. If Afghanistan had lost people would have torn apart the batting left and right.

Afghanistan won because of rashid khan who's been the best player for Afghanistan this tournament.

Those 2 wickets sealed the deal and Bangladesh's tail is horrificly weak.

Before that Bangladesh was dominating 80% of the game. The batting was dreadful. The openers shouldn't be competly blamed as Afghanistan' s middle order also collapsed like a house of cards but it was a bad batting performance by Afghanistan.

The point I’m trying to make is that you can win without having to explosive openers. It is not a deal breaker by any means.

Gurbaz is explosive in general but in these conditions he hasn’t been at his fluent best.

Pakistan’s major problem is lack of middle-order and lack of proper spinner(s). Pakistan will be a formidable team if they address these issues even if they are opening with Babar and Rizwan.

On the other hand, they will still struggle with this middle-order and lack of proper spinner even if they get two explosive openers.

People invest too many emotions in the opening pair when the team has bigger problems. The idea that Pakistan will be a different team if they get a new opening pair is incorrect.

 

[JaDed]

The point I’m trying to make is that you can win without having to explosive openers. It is not a deal breaker by any means.

Gurbaz is explosive in general but in these conditions he hasn’t been at his fluent best.

Pakistan’s major problem is lack of middle-order and lack of proper spinner(s). Pakistan will be a formidable team if they address these issues even if they are opening with Babar and Rizwan.

On the other hand, they will still struggle with this middle-order and lack of proper spinner even if they get two explosive openers.

People invest too many emotions in the opening pair when the team has bigger problems. The idea that Pakistan will be a different team if they get a new opening pair is incorrect.

There needs to be 1-2 among top 3 for Powerplay that can score.
Pakistan is literally playing ODI cricket of 80s, even in 1990’s PCT had more dynamic openers in ODI but T20, Riz and Babar are extremely one dimensional.

 

[mominsaigol]

The point I’m trying to make is that you can win without having to explosive openers. It is not a deal breaker by any means.

Gurbaz is explosive in general but in these conditions he hasn’t been at his fluent best.

Pakistan’s major problem is lack of middle-order and lack of proper spinner(s). Pakistan will be a formidable team if they address these issues even if they are opening with Babar and Rizwan.

On the other hand, they will still struggle with this middle-order and lack of proper spinner even if they get two explosive openers.

People invest too many emotions in the opening pair when the team has bigger problems. The idea that Pakistan will be a different team if they get a new opening pair is incorrect.

In odi sure and in t20 as well, but you'll always be at a disadvantage nonetheless.

In this tournament kohli and hendricks have been huge thorns in the side due to their slow innings as openers.

The middle and lower order being brittle is Pakistan's biggest problem as with usman khan at 3, our tail literally starts at 3.

However even with top sides not having this issue, the lack of explosive openers has exposed them with many especially SA having really close encounters where hendricks ensured that Quinton's 2nd fastest 50 of the tournament was useless and the bowlers had to punch above their weight.

You can win games without explosive openers but they'll be tight nailbiters and will lead to many losses even if the MO is strong.

 

[Snowflake]

Rizwan does it to gain advantage as well. It's even worse because he does it to score runs. Everytime he get's tired he relaxes by these antics.

Naah, the only advantage he gets is a boost in his PR - the fighter persona.

If anything, he breaks his own momentum. He also does this at various stages in the innings, early on too… so it’s got nothing to do with stamina either

 

[Jatlahoria]

It was not a good look for sure but players fake injuries all the time to slow the clock. Take any sport. It happens.

It is commonplace in cricket in one way or the other. Most teams are doing gamesmanship like this, it is not gentleman sport. No need to make big deal of this when there were so many powerful plays through the game.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

not the whole team but yeah Gulbadin Naib and coach jonathan trott should be penalized. they both were the main characters.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Funniest thing I've seen': Afghan's cramp under scrutiny

Gulbadin Naib appears set to overcome his 'rainstring' to play in Afghanistan's first ever T20 World Cup semi-final

Mitch Marsh labelled Gulbadin Naib's suspected mischief during the dramatic World Cup match that knocked Australia out of the World Cup "one of the funniest things I've ever seen on a cricket field".

Pending his recovery from what Adam Zampa termed a "rainstring", Gulbadin appears set to play in Afghanistan's first ever senior World Cup semi-final (against South Africa on Thursday morning AEST) though there remains some possibility the allrounder could be sanctioned by the International Cricket Council.

Coach Jonathan Trott was spotted on television cameras urging his team to slow down play after Bangladesh, chasing Afghanistan's 5-115, fell behind the DLS target at 7-81 in the 12th over as rain threatened to stop play for a third time in their innings in St Vincent.

As Marsh's Australians gathered at their St Lucia hotel to cheer on a Bangladesh victory that would have put them through to the final four, Gulbadin, standing at slip, theatrically fell to the turf clutching his leg.

Rashid Khan said later the veteran had suffered from cramp but the Afghan captain did not initially appear impressed by the 33-year-old's sudden collapse.

"I was almost in tears laughing and at the end of the day it had no bearing on the game," said Marsh. "So we can laugh about it now – but gee it was funny. It was outstanding."

Gulbadin proceeded to charge in with the ball in a vital two-over burst, vigorously celebrate his wicket of Tanzim Hasan Sakib and doing the same when Afghanistan's historic win was sealed. He was also front and centre in footage captured in their changerooms of assistant coach Dwayne Bravo leading a fresh rendition of his ubiquitous 'Champion' song.

If all that was not enough of an indication of some cheekiness on Gulbadin's behalf, the subsequent photo he posted to social media by the 33-year-old of him smiling alongside team physiotherapist Prasanth Panchada captioned "wonders can happen" might have done it.

"He 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," said Rashid.

"We haven't lost any overs, the rain came and we just went off, it's not something (that) brought a massive difference in the game … for me, it's just like a small injury comes in, then you have to take some time."

The ICC's playing conditions specifically call out that it is "unfair for any fielder to waste time" and give scope for umpires to charge players or captains if they believe the time-wasting was "deliberate or repetitive".

A two-game ban is the maximum penalty for time-wasting though a first and final warning appears more likely if Gulbadin was in fact reported.

While Marsh appreciated the comedy of the spectacle, Australia's skipper conceded it had been a tough watch for his team whose fate was out of their hands following back-to-back defeats to Afghanistan and India.

"We watched it as a group. It was obviously a pretty amazing game wasn't it? A lot of twists and turns," he said.

"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.

"We were all flat (when the final wicket fell). We were desperate to continue on in the tournament. But fair play to Afghanistan – they beat us and they beat Bangladesh and they deserve to be in the semi-finals."

The Gulbadin incident was one of several charged moments in a remarkable and, at times, amusing contest that held consequences for three of the four Super Eight Group 1 teams.

Rashid had earlier hurled his bat in the direction of batting partner Karim Janat for failing to take a second run that would have put him back on strike. The spirited Afghan skipper hit three sixes anyway, one more than the remaining 21 players managed for the entire game.

That tipped his side over to a competitive total on a tough pitch, but still one Bangladesh fancied themselves to chase down within a timeframe of 12.1 overs. Doing so would have seen them leapfrog both Afghanistan and Australia into a semi-final.

After multiple rain breaks, Bangladesh got to the 10-over break needing 39 from 13 balls to fulfil the unlikely equation. But by captain Najmul Shanto's later retelling, the Tigers had given up on that and were instead simply focusing on registering a consolation win that would send the Aussies through to the semi.

Litton Das, who carried his bat for an unbeaten half-century in vain, looked to have gotten the message. But wild swings across the line from Mahmudullah and Rishad Hossain against Rashid gave the ace bowler wickets in consecutive balls, sparking a collapse of 5-25.

"I think as a batting group we made a lot of poor decisions that cost us today," said Shanto, who was dismissed in the Powerplay for five taking on paceman Naveen-ul-Haq.

"The plan was that we would try to score in the first six overs. If we start well and we don't lose the early wickets, then we will take the chance. But when we lost three early wickets, our plan was different. Our plan was how we could win the match (using the full allocation of overs) then.

"Because our plan was to win the match, I would say that the middle order didn't make a good decision. Because of this, I think we lost the match."

Rashid admitted he was sympathetic to Australia’s plight – "if we were in the place of Australia, we would have supported the same team" – but coach Trott urged his side to not overawed when they face South Africa in Trinidad for a spot in the decider.

"We go into the semi-final with no scarring or no history with regards to semi-finals," said the Cape Town-born former England Test batter, perhaps a sly reference to the Proteas own shaky reputation in knockout games.

"This is uncharted territory for us. We're just going to go out there and give it our all.

"By no means do we feel like we're going into the semi-final just to compete. We're there to win the semi-final. We've seen we've beaten some major teams.

"We've won by large margins. We've won by tight margins. We've won in close games. So that's going to serve us well going forward to the semi-final."

SOURCE: https://www.cricket.com.au/news/4045015

 

[Sir Alex]

Can't win without cheating. Australia should be in the semis.

SA crush these cheats please.

It had zero effect on the match. If anything, it kind of defused some of the tension as everyone were laughing. Including BD batsmen.

 

[Sir Alex]

We own them we made them. Simple. Without us they wouldn't exist.

Lol, if this is the case, then BCCI practically owns PCB given majority of funding even today comes from India. Ramiz raja admitted to it

 

[Sir Alex]

A fine and/or 1 game ban should suffice. Those comparing this with Rizwan's acting are missing a critical difference - Rizwan's acting does not have any meaningful impact on the result of the game. He only does these for show and to play to the gallery; which is quite annoying tbh.

Naib's actions could cost the opposition the game in an unfair manner.

Cricket has gotten away with such dirty tactics for far too long - umpires need to put their foot down at some point.

Naib's actions had no impact on the game either.

 

[Snowflake]

Naib's actions had no impact on the game either.

Only because the rain stopped immediately.

Just because it didn’t have an impact doesn’t mean it should have no repercussions.

 

[Aang_The_last_airbender]

Only because the rain stopped immediately.

Just because it didn’t have an impact doesn’t mean it should have no repercussions.

Hmm kinda yes, because there are different punishments for attempted murder and actual murder. Might get a reprimand but no one is making a big deal out of it and its absolutely funny. No one is feeling aggrieved here, nor the Bangladesh is complaining or the Aussie. But Pakistani seem to have considerable grievance.

 

[Sir Alex]

Only because the rain stopped immediately.

Just because it didn’t have an impact doesn’t mean it should have no repercussions.

There are bigger pressing stuff to focus.

No.victim. no crime..no case.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Ravi Ashwin said in his YouTube channel:

“Jonathan Trott was telling from the dressing room to slow it down and after that Naib fell on the ground like a broken tree branch. Everyone is saying he will be penalised for it. But what’s the problem? The guy is playing for his country, trying to win a World Cup qualifier.”

 

[MK7Z]

So I have not read all the comments on this so its probably already been mentioned.

Although its classed as dirty tactics and I didn't like them, Its refreshing to see a team and its backroom staff be aware of the game situation. Pakistan on the other hand would be working out how many runs King Babar needs before the next cake cutting ceremony rather than the actual game situation.

Countless times over the years Pakistan have inexplicably been unaware of NRR and its importance at the end of group stages until its to late and they need to score at 12 runs an over in a game when they have been limping at a run a ball the rest of the tournament.

So yeah dirty play but it is what it is. Rather someone did that and a team benefits than someone who bats their way to a personal milestone

 

[oatmeal]

Whatever penalty the team gets should have been on the field. umpire could have awarded 5 runs.

Now ICC can choose to fine Naib but I dont think they will suspend him

 

[Local.Dada]

It’s all funny now and didn’t effect the game but yes should be fined.Dont think he will care either but rules are rules

 

[Josh]

Imran Tahir also did it once in Sri Lanka. Players do these sort of things all the time. It isn't cheating in my opinion. Players have wasted time in tying shoe laces, taking time between overs.

 

[GLORY OF '92]

Lol, if this is the case, then BCCI practically owns PCB given majority of funding even today comes from India. Ramiz raja admitted to it

Lol what?

If it wasn't for us there would be no India it'd would still be under British Rule.

 

[Sir Alex]

Lol what?

If it wasn't for us there would be no India it'd would still be under British Rule.

It wasn't for who ?

 

[MenInG]

India doing same with Pant taking a break for injury?