India’s six-run win in the fifth Test against England at The Oval didn’t go well with former Pakistan cricketer Shabbir Ahmed who claimed Shubman Gill’s men used “vaseline” and want the red cherry to be lab tested. Shabbir’s comment came in after India pacer defended 35 runs on the final day of the Test match to script an epic comeback win.
The win not only won India the game, but also secured the visitor’s a 2-2 draw in the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Chasing 374 runs to win, England were on course for a series-clinching win, but crumbled under pressure after the dismissals of Joe Root and Harry Brook.
The performance didn’t go well with Shabbir, who took to X to express his views, explaining that the petroleum jelly helped the ball to move even after 80-plus overs. In fact, despite the availability, India didn’t opt for the second new ball on the final day.
“I think India used Vaseline. After 80 + over Ball still shine like new. Umpire should send this ball to lab for examine,” Shabbir wrote on X. Mohammed Siraj’s three wickets on the final day took him to 23 wickets in the series – highest wicket-taker in five matches.
For the unknown, Shabbir played for Pakistan from 1999 and 2007 in 10 Tests, 32 ODIs and one T20I and took 84 wickets.
Pakistan’s history of accusing Indian bowlers
This is not the first time former Pakistan cricketers have slammed the Indian team’s performance with weird claims. Earlier, during India’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign when former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq accused the Indians of ball tampering.
“Arshdeep Singh, when he was bowling the 15th over, the ball was reversing. Is it too early (for reverse swing) with the new ball? This means the ball was ready for reverse swing by the 12th or the 13th over.
Umpires should keep their eyes open (to spot) these things…If it was Pakistani bowlers (reverse swinging the ball) this would have been a big issue. We know reverse swing very well and if Arshdeep can come in the 15th over and start reversing the ball, it means some serious work had been done before,” Inzamam had said to a Pakistani news channel.
