Who is Basit Ali - the former Pakistan cricketer known for making bizarre statements?
Former Pakistan cricketers seem to have made it a habit of coming up with bizarre views and remarks and Basit Ali is no different. Recently, he hit out at senior Indian pacer Mohammed Shami for the latter’s comments on former Pakistan captain Inzamam ul Haq. He also criticized BCCI over the possibility of them not playing the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
Reacting to Inzamam’s controversial claims that Indian bowlers tampered with the ball during the 2024 T20 World Cup, Shami had termed it ‘cartoongiri’ (buffoonery). Responding to Shami, Basit said on his YouTube channel that, ‘if you don't, cricket will make you cry 300 days out of 365 and only make you happy for 65 days’.
Basit (53) is a former Pakistan batter, who played 19 Tests and 50 ODIs in the 1990s. A right-handed batter, he scored 858 runs in Test matches at an average of 26.81, with one hundred and five half-centuries. In one-dayers, he notched up 1265 runs at an average of 34.18, with one hundred and nine fifties. Basit scored over 8000 runs in first-class cricket and more than 4000 runs in List A games.
There was a point when he drew comparisons to the legendary Javed Miandad owing to the humungous batting talent that he possessed. The former cricketer briefly flourished on the big stage, but did not show the mental aptitude needed to succeed regularly under pressure.
What Basit Ali said about Mohammed Shami’s remarks on Inzamam
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Basit said that Shami should not have called Inzamam a cartoon and should have shown him some respect since he is a senior cricketer. You also urged the Indian fast bowler to pick his words properly.
"When Shami talks about Inzi bhai and calls him a cartoon, that's not right. Inzamam has led this country and captained it. Shami, your choice of words isn't good. We praise your bowling, but you should have chosen your words better. You didn't pick your words well, and that hurt me," Basit commented.
Shami was extremely critical of Inzamam for questioning the authenticity of India’s bowling performance in the 2024 T20 World Cup. He has lashed out at former Pakistan cricketers in the past as well over their strange remarks on Indian cricket and cricketers.