"Enjoy your irrelevant career Kaleemullah, not fit to lick Warner’s boots" - Fans react to Oman pacer's fiery send-off in AUS vs OMA T20 WC clash
Oman pacer Kaleemullah invoked the wrath of fans following his aggressive send-off to veteran David Waner in the 2024 T20 World Cup match against Australia. Warner was dismissed in the penultimate over of the innings by the right-arm pacer in the ongoing match at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
Stoinis took on Kaleemullah to push Australia's total towards the end. The 33-year-old conceded 13 runs off the first four deliveries of the over, while Warner also looked to go hard from the other end. The left-handed batter holed out to long-off while trying to dispatch a slower delivery.
As Warner began his walk to the pavilion, the pacer began celebrating in an exaggerated manner. He screamed at the top of his lungs and kicked the turf as well, finishing with a stare towards the departing batter.
Warner played a crucial knock on a sluggish surface. He ended up with 56 runs off 51 deliveries to kickstart his final international assignment.
Several fans claimed that such aggression was unwarranted from Kaleemullah, especially against a player like David Warner. Have a look at some of the reactions right here:
"Enjoy your irrelevant career Kaleemullah, not fit to lick Warner’s boots mate," one fan wrote.
"Was Kaleemullah's cricket hero Andre Nel?' another tweet read.
"Unacceptable and I trust his nonsense will be sanctioned," another fan remarked.
Kaleemullah finished with figures of 1-30 off his three overs against Australia
Born in Pakistan, Kaleemullah shifted his base to Oman. So far he has played 39 and 35 ODIs and T20Is, respectively. The fast bowler has been able to use his tall frame to extract bounce and trouble the batters over the years.
He bowled two overs in the powerplay, where Warner hit him for a couple of boundaries. Kaleemullah's figures were spoilt a little in his final over; he conceded plenty as Australia posted 164.
As of writing, Oman are crumbling in their run-chase. The Australian pacers have made the most of the new ball, reducing the minnows to 29-3 at the end of the powerplay. Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, and Marcus Stoinis all struck to set the game up for the spinners in the middle overs.