MELBOURNE (The Thursday Times) — Pakistan ke azeem fast bowler Wasim Akram ne Australian kaptaan Pat Cummins ke is daawe par sawal uthaya hai ke unhein 2018 ke Cape Town Test mein gaind par sandpaper ke istemal ka ilm nahin tha. Wasim ka kehna hai ke koi bhi tajurbakar bowler yeh nuqsan fauran pehchan leta.
Hafte ko Melbourne se social media par jari ek video mein Wasim ne kaha ke sandpaper se gaind par parne wale nishan pitch se aane wali ghisawat se bilkul mukhtalif hote hain. “Bataur bowler main gaind ko dekhte hi jaan loon ga ke kuch theek nahin hai,” unhon ne kaha.
“Unhon ne kaha ke unhein maloom nahin tha. Bataur bowler, jab cricket ki gaind mere haath mein aati hai, chahe paanchwan over ho, daswan ya pachaswan, aap gaind ka khayal rakhte hain, us ki ek side chamkate hain,” Wasim ne kaha. “Lekin sandpaper ki kharash ek tappe ki kharash se bilkul mukhtalif hoti hai.”
Un ka kehna tha ke koi bhi shakhs ek neem nayi gaind par sandpaper ragar kar aur nishanat ka muqabla kar ke yeh khud aazma sakta hai.
Reverse swing ke azeem mahireen mein shumar hone wale Wasim ne Cummins ko “bohat qareebi dost” qarar diya aur kaha ke woh kisi ki tarafdari nahin kar rahe. Taham un ka kehna tha ke is tanaze ne Australia ki saakh par waseeh tar sawalat utha diye hain. “Australians apni saaf goi, maidan ke andar aur bahar apni sakhti, aur sab se barh kar imandari ke liye mashhoor hain. Mere khayal mein isi liye poori qaum kuch dabao mein hai,” unhon ne kaha. “Mujhe umeed hai maamlat sulajh jayenge, lekin yeh meri raye hai.”
Yeh scandal us waqt dobara bharka jab sabiq Australian opener Usman Khawaja ne apni aap beeti Sabr mein likha ke ball tampering ke mansoobe ka ilm dressing room mein, bowlers samet, bohat se logon ko tha. Khawaja ne naam batane se inkar kiya hai, aur Cricket Australia tahqiqat dobara kholne ka imkan mustarad kar chuka hai.
Jumme ko Sydney mein ek taweel press conference mein Cummins ne in ilzamat ko “sau feesad ghalat” aur “mukammal taur par bakwas” qarar diya. Unhon ne kaha ke unhein ilm nahin tha ke sandpaper maidan mein le jaya gaya hai, aur is mansoobe ke mimaron mein shamil hone ki tardeed ki.
March 2018 mein Newlands mein South Africa ke khilaf teesre Test ke dauran Cameron Bancroft ko gaind par sandpaper istemal karte hue camera ne pakar liya tha. Kaptaan Steve Smith aur naib kaptaan David Warner par ek saal, aur Bancroft par nau maah ki pabandi lagi, jabke Cricket Australia ne team ke culture ka waseeh jaiza lene ka hukm diya.
