In a bizarre moment seldom witnessed on a cricket field, Afghanistan player Gulbadin Naib seemed to fake an injury in an attempt to help his team during the T20 World Cup Super Eight clash against Bangladesh in Kingstown on Tuesday.
With Afghanistan two runs ahead of Bangladesh on the DLS method with rain closing in after 11.4 overs in their chase, Naib responded to the gestures of his coaching staff, including South African-born head coach Jonathan Trott, on the sidelines to slow the game down. He suddenly, and incredibly, seemed to pick up a debilitating hamstring strain while standing dead still at first slip.
As he writhed in apparent agony like he had just been shot by an invisible sniper, the rain started to fall and the covers were brought on. Naib was then helped from the field by a teammate as he limped off - as some wondered if his antics were genuine.
If the match had ended at that point, Afghanistan would have won and progressed to the semi-finals of the competition at the expense of Australia.
Bro Afghanistan 😂![CDATA[]]>😂 pic.twitter.com/Aou0nqNSVv
— Senna (@sennaj7) June 25, 2024
Short delay
As it turned out, the disruption was short-lived as the action resumed seven minutes later.
Two overs later, after making a miraculous recovery - Naib removed the strapping from his leg - and came on to bowl. Two balls later, the miracle was complete as he took a wicket to remove Bangladesh batsman Tanzim Hasan Sakib for three.
At the end of the over, Bangladesh were flailing at 84/8, still needing 20 from 24 balls.
Afghanistan would go on to close out the historic win, by eight runs on the DLS method, and indeed book their last four berth against the Proteas. The teams will face off in Tarouba with the match starting at 2.30am SA time on Thursday morning.