T20 World Cup | Sahibzada Farhan on India vs Pakistan matches: ‘Not one-sided’
It is Tariq’s stop-start run-up and tossed delivery actions that have caused irritation between the teams, with new IPL millionaire Cameron Green adding fuel to the fire after he failed to deal with Tariq in the recently concluded ODI series.Suddenly, Tariq’s act has become a topic and after the US came out against him on Tuesday, the decibels seem to have gone up a bit. Tariq took 3-27 to pull a pair out of the chase in the USA and was the mainstay of a spin quintet that also includes part-timer Saim Ayub.The cause for concern is the traditionally slow track Pre-madasa, where Pakistan then plays India. Tariq, who stops short of serving, is very slow through the air and sometimes the ball doesn’t seem to reach the bat. The batter has to create all the momentum to hit it.While its slowness is par for the course given the idiosyncrasy of the action, the trouble for the batsman arises when one ball suddenly comes a little faster and spins. There are voices in the cricketing world who insist that Tariq dropped this delivery and that he should not be allowed to play.However, the mystery spinner found an ally from an unusual quarter in the form of off-spin master R Ashwin, who posted his support on X.Eminent batting coach and former India player WV Raman also believes that Tariq is not a bowler, but it should not be difficult for India to play him. “With the round-arm action, it is very difficult to bowl… The strangeness of Tariq’s action creates the problem. Batsmen are used to a rhythm where everything happens in one stroke. When suddenly there is a pause, you start thinking about what is going on,” Raman told TOI.“But Indian batters are good enough to deal with it. Kedar Jadhav and Riyan Parag like it from time to time, so it doesn’t mean they are not used to it,” he said. Chatting will continue over the next few days. Indian players are great spin bowlers, someone like Shivam Dube is a designated spin-hitter. Pakistan will have a few more spinners in their XI in the form of Mo-hammed Nawaz, Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan and India will need all their skills to deal with the threat led by Tariq.