Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali questions South Africa's performance against India

India comfortably beat South Africa

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has alleged that the match between South Africa and India at the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup could have been fixed. The Proteas went into the match as favourites but ended up losing by 130 runs at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Too many IPL players in South Africa’s team?

The cricketer-turned-commentator said that the South African team picked their XI on the day with players who play in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which according to him is suspicious.

“Which team players are mostly featured in the IPL? It’s South Africa and Australia. The South Africans fielded those players who play in the IPL, and I think that itself raises a big question. On field, South Africa are a better side. But then, some decisions did look a bit strange. The way Wayne Parnell gave away runs, it looked as if he was asked to give away those runs,” Ali said.

Ali went on to say that Pakistan players were not allowed to play in the IPL because their players would expose everything that is wrong with the tournament. He also felt that South African cricketers underperformed because they don’t want their IPL contracts to get cancelled.

“Why don’t they allow Pakistan to play in IPL? Not because of any political issue, but they are afraid that all the wrongdoings will be exposed,” Ali added.

Akmal rubbishes Ali’s claim

Current Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal, who wasn’t picked in Pakistan's squad for the World Cup, was also on air and stated that he was surprised by South Africa's move to bowl Wayne Parnell before the more experienced Morne Morkel.

“That was a strange decision and I think that changed the course of the match. The decision to bring in JP Duminy in the ninth over was also surprising,” Akmal said.

Akmal, though, disagreed with Ali’s comments on the IPL. The 33-year-old, who played in the first season of the IPL for the Rajasthan Royals, said that he found nothing wrong in the league when he played in it.

When I played IPL, it was absolutely clean. We just focused on our own performances,” Akmal said.

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