Sachinism Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan fast bowler and current bowling coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders, has said players in the IPL have been actively tampering with the ball, making it difficult for batsmen to sight it in the later stages of the innings. Akram said he has spotted bowlers rubbing red soil on the ball in places like Mumbai, Rajasthan and Ahmedabad once the floodlights take effect, thereby reducing its visibility when the batsmen are looking to accelerate. "I won't name anyone but I have seen quite a few cricketers who have been rubbing mud on the ball and that is also tampering," Akram told espnstar.com. " If umpires are not watching then I don't know who is. In this IPL, umpires should look for players who are putting mud on the ball because you can't alter the state of the ball with anything. "Around the 18th, 19th over in places like Rajasthan, Mumbai or Ahmedabad where there is red soil it is difficult to see the ball under lights and by putting the mud on the ball these players are trying to contain the batsmen or get wickets." However, Akram denied that rubbing mud on the ball would result in reverse swing. He added that the practice of spinners vigorously running their hands over mud before bowling does not amount to tampering. "That is different, that is just to get some grip on the ball but here someone is just going berserk rubbing the mud on the ball," he said. Akram took over his position with the franchise at the start of this season and is the only Pakistani involved in the IPL. One of the team's strike bowlers, Ishant Sharma, has struggled in the tournament, picking seven wickets from as many games at an expensive economy rate of 9.44 and conceding 33 runs per wicket. Akram admitted that the fast bowler was struggling to find his rhythm but backed him to bounce back. "He is out of rhythm but is working extremely hard. He just needs a couple of good games and the rhythm will be back," Akram said. "Ishant feels his run-up is not smooth and the rhythm is not there. He just needs to bowl in the nets, which he is doing, and which will help him get the rhythm back. He is getting wickets but in T20 it is difficult to regain form because, unlike Test matches and ODIs, there are just four overs bowled here and that too on dead tracks." He said a county stint would help Ishant immensely. " I think he will be playing for Hampshire this season. And that will improve his bowling and organisational skills because in England he will be alone," Akram said. "When I was 21, I used to get up at one o' clock because at this age you tend to sleep late and he does the same which is fine with me. But in county cricket, he won't get time to rest so much because he will be traveling and bowling everyday. In the process his bowling muscles will get stronger which will help increase his pace." When asked about up and coming fast bowlers who have impressed him in his coaching stint, Akram singled out the Under-19 left-arm seamer Jaidev Unadkat. "This young kid in our side, Jaidev Unadkat, is the one to watch out for. He is lean like I was when I was 17-18, he can swing the ball both ways and he is hard working. I think we will hear about him in about a couple of years." http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/content/current/story/456265.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roshanrocks Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 ball tampering expert speaking :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner_Mania Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 ball tampering expert speaking :D exactly. ICC should name Akram, Waqar, Imran on teh experts panel to identify methods of ball tampering. I am sure between them they can identify more ball tampering cases then other cricket experts or ordinary viewers watching. Afridi though can be excluded from this because his ball tampering methods can be found out by a small kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bumblebee Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 exactly. ICC should name Akram' date=' Waqar, Imran on teh experts panel to identify methods of ball tampering. I am sure between them they can identify more ball tampering cases then other cricket experts or ordinary viewers watching. Afridi though can be excluded from this because his ball tampering methods can be found out by a small kid.[/quote'] +1 P.S catch me if you can :winky: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vvvslaxman Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 He probably taught them :cantstop: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desi Cartman Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 does this mean that KKR sucks at cheating as well :dontknow: BTW Wasim bhai should keep the filth on his side of border Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
achilles Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Concern. I'd appreciate if the slugfest off-the-field ends and we concentrate on cricket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Lol, Akram is just trollin' If he wants to create a controversy, he should at least make it something worthwhile and not come up with super-lame allegations like 'Oh, look the players are rubbing mud on the ball so that the batsmen cannot see it...'. As far as I can tell, no player/captain in the IPL so far has complained of any lack of visibility of the ball, at any stage of the innings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranjha Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Akram ji ko ball tampering ke sapne aate hai subah shaam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
achilles Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 Lol, Akram is just trollin' If he wants to create a controversy, he should at least make it something worthwhile and not come up with super-lame allegations like 'Oh, look the players are rubbing mud on the ball so that the batsmen cannot see it...'. As far as I can tell, no player/captain in the IPL so far has complained of any lack of visibility of the ball, at any stage of the innings. Maybe, but we should take his opinion on face-value and move on, just like we take Bhajji & Viru's opinion on face-value and move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 Maybe' date=' but we should take his opinion on face-value and move on, just like we take Bhajji & Viru's opinion on face-value and move on.[/quote'] His isnt an 'opinion', its an 'allegation'. I cannot say 'I just saw X player tamper the ball' and then later say 'Oh my bad, it was just my opinion..' If Akram wants to sound serious, let him convince his franchize to launch a formal complain with IPL Governing council over breach of playing regulations. I am sure if that happened, they'll probably launch an investigation and with all the video evidence around, anyone guilty will be caught. We all know this - Akram's just blowing hot air here. Rubbing red sand on the ball to discolor it? I mean seriously, Is there a more super-lame method to tamper the ball? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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