"Big breaking: Gulbadin Naib receives maiden call-up by Rizwan to join his academy"- Top 10 funny memes after Naib's 'injury' during AFG vs BAN clash
Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib caught everyone's attention after he faked an injury during the final moments of the last Super Eight match of the 2024 T20 World Cup against Bangladesh. It was a must-win game for the Afghan side to qualify for the semi-finals.
Afghanistan batted first after winning the toss and made 115/5 in 20 overs on the back of opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz's 43 off 55 balls. Litton Das held the innings together for Bangladesh and kept them alive in the chase single-handedly, even though wickets fell regularly at the other end.
Rain also made its appearance when things got intense during the second half of the chase in the 12th over, when Afghanistan were marginally ahead according to DLS par score.
Afghan head coach Jonathan Trott was spotted indicating to his players from the dressing room to slow down things when it started to drizzle. Slip fielder Gulbadin Naib seemingly took the cue from his coach and fell on the ground, catching his hamstring to halt the play. After a while, he left the ground limping with the physio and other players as umpires called for the covers.
However, it was a short break, as play resumed after 10 minutes. Interestingly, Naib did return to the field later and also bowled two economical overs and picked up a wicket. Naveen-ul-Haq then scalped two wickets in the 18th over to take his side over the line in a close contest.
Fans saw the funny side of Gulbadin Naib's injury moment and used it as a template to compile hilarious memes on social media platforms. Here are some of them:
"We came back on field after five minutes and there was no massive difference" - Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan on Gulbadin Naib's injury incident
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan gave his opinion on the controversial injury incident of his teammate Gulbadin Naib. He revealed that Naib had a cramp and was not aware of the happenings on social media.
Rashid also downplayed the incident by stating that it did not make any difference to the eventual result. He said:
"Well, he had some cramp, I don't know what happened to him and I don't know what's going on in social media but that doesn't matter. It's just an on-field injury which happens, the rain came and we just went off, it's not something [that] brought a massive difference in the game. We came back on field after five minutes and there was no massive difference. For me, it's just like a small injury happens, then you have to take some time."
Rashid continued:
"It's a big achievement for us being in the semifinals and yeah, I think the cricket we have played in the whole tournament so far - I think we deserve to be in the semis. The way everyone took the responsibility of getting into the game and performing [at their] best for the team. So, I don't know how I can describe my feeling but it's a massive achievement for us as a team and as a nation to be in the semis."
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