The allegation of ball-tampering has sparked outrage from Shabbir Ahmed, a former Pakistan fast bowler, who accused Indian fast bowlers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna of tampering with the ball during the 5th and the final Test against England on the third day of the match at The Oval. Ahmed has even claimed that the Indian bowlers could have wiped the ball with an external substance such as Vaseline in order to keep an old ball shiny, and has further suggested to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to have the match ball used on Days 4 and 5 undergo a forensic test in a laboratory.
India was defeated by just six runs in the closest win in its Test history as it staged a dramatic six-run win in the match, thus drawing the series at two-two. The fast bowling duo of Siraj and Prasidh Krishna headed much of this historic comeback as the bowlers were able to induce huge amounts of movement with a ball that was firmly beyond 80 overs. Amazingly, Shubman Gill, the India captain, left the second new ball until a crucial point in the England chase as the old one kept on reverse swinging to take wickets of the lower-end batters.
Siraj bowled great on Day 5, showing both the way the ball moves and cleaning the England tail. He got rid of Jamie Smith with a cutting out swinger and then swung back in to have Jamie Overton l.b.w. Prasidh Krishna was also doing his bit and bowled some testing lines and was in the end able to clean bowl Josh Tongue with a near call with the DRS.
Some might have glorified the performance as a demonstration of real talent, but Shabbir Ahmed belittled the validation of the Indian bowlers, overlooking the fact that the pitch was suiting the seamer offcast and strategy. Rather, he insinuated foul play as well as requested the involvement of the ICC.
Up till now, neither the ICC nor the Indian team has made an official statement with respect to the wager that was placed by Ahmed.
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