"The spirit of the game was hurt"- Shoaib Akhtar on Fakhar Zaman's run-out in 2nd ODI against South Africa
Shoaib Akhtar is disappointed with Quinton De Kock following Fakhar Zaman's controversial run-out in the second ODI against South Africa. The former speedster said De Kock's actions were not in the spirit of the game.
The controversial incident occurred in the game's penultimate over. Fakhar Zaman was run out following a direct hit from Aiden Markram from long-off.
Quinton De Kock seemingly gesticulated that the throw from Markram was coming to the other end, which apparently made Fakhar Zaman slow down. The throw, however, arrived at Zaman's end, and the batsman was caught napping.
Speaking about the incident on his YouTube channel, Shoaib Akhtar said:
"What Quinton de Kock did, I wouldn't call it cheating, but it was not in the good spirit of the game. The spirit of the game was hurt, which I didn't like. Quinton de Kock is a great kid, and he shouldn't do it deliberately. Fakhar thought that when the throw was made, it would come to the non-striker's end, and he (Quinton) also made the same gesture".
Shoaib Akhtar further said that he wanted the left-hander to score a double century. The 30-year-old already has a double century to his name in ODI cricket, which came against Zimbabwe in 2018.
"I felt bad because I wanted Fakhar to become the only Pakistani batsman to have two double centuries. If those penalty runs were given to Pakistan, they would have won the game easily. But I was disappointed that the decision wasn't made then and there. There was no awareness of the game," Akhtar added.
"Don't think it's Quinton's fault"- Fakhar Zaman
Fakhar Zaman had a great chance to become the first batsman to score a double hundred in ODIs while chasing.
There might be a raging debate about his run-out, but the batsman believes that Quinton De Kock wasn't at fault for his dismissal.
"The fault was mine, as I was too busy looking out for Haris Rauf at the other end, as I felt he started off a little late from his crease, so I thought he was in trouble. The rest is up to the match referee, but I don't think it's Quinton's fault," said Fakhar Zaman after the game.
Custodians of the game, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), took to Twitter and said that it is up to the umpire to decide whether the act of the fielder to distract the batsman was willful or not.
The final game of the series will be played on Wednesday in Centurion, with the series at 1-1.