South African spinner, Tabraiz Shamsi, has come in defense of thewicket-keeper, Quinton De Kock. He stated that De Kock was not trying todeceive Fakhar Zaman during his run-out in the second ODI. Instead, he wasasking a fielder to back up at the non-striker’s end.
Fakhar Zaman’s incredible innings of 193 off 155 balls came to an abruptend as he was run-out in the final over of the game, as Pakistan ultimatelylost the match by 17 runs.
The run-out sparked a debate amongst the cricketing universe as formercricketers, and cricketing journalists believe that De Kock distractedFakhar as he was coming back for his second run. Under the ICC rules andregulations, Pakistan should have been awarded five penalty runs, andFakhar should have been given not out.——————————
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Shamsi believes that De Kock did not deceive Fakhar and asked thecricketing fans to leave Quinton De Kock alone. He added that it wasFakhar’s responsibility to complete the run.
However, Shamsi’s statement contradicts the statement of his captain, TembaBavuma, who was fielding closer to De Kock unlike Shamsi, and appreciatedDe Kock’s clever thinking.
Bavuma said, “It was quite clever from Quinny. Maybe some people mightcriticize it for maybe not being in the spirit of the game. However, it wasan important wicket for us. Zaman was getting close to our target. Yeah, itwas clever from Quinny. You’ve always got to look for ways especially whenthings are not going your way, got to find ways to turn the momentumaround. Quinny did that – I don’t think he broke the rules in any kind ofway. It was a clever piece of cricket.”
Another thing that clearly shows Shamsi is lying is that the ball wasalready thrown in De Kock’s direction so it makes no sense for him to bepointing towards the bowling end and asking for backup.——————————
Pakistan bowling coach, Waqar Younis, took to Twitter to hint that De Kockdeceived Fakhar during the run while congratulating Fakhar’s tremendousinnings. Waqar wrote, “What about this cheeky giggle from Quinton tellsyou?”
The West Indian batsman, Sherfane Rutherford, also came to the defense ofFakhar Zaman and questioned the International Cricket Council (ICC) whetherthis is allowed within the rules of the game.
The conclusion Fakhar’s record-breaking innings may have been marred bycontroversy, but his brilliance earned him plaudits from the cricketingfraternity all over the world.