‘Old rainstring’: Gulbadin Naib’s ‘delay tactics’ in Afghanistan win stir up Spirit of Cricket debate

At one juncture in a stifling chase, Bangladesh were ahead of the DLS par score, only to fall two runs behind in the 12th over as rain made another appearance to snip the 115-run target to 114 with a reduction of one over. Shortly before the break, Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott was seen gesturing at his players to slow down the game to maintain their lead over the DLS par score.

All-rounder Naib, standing at first slip, reacted with an instantaneous fall to the field, clutching his hamstring before the umpires decided to call for the covers to come on. Witnessing Naib’s questionable gesture on air, former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull reacted on commentary by saying,“Oh no no no, sorry. You can’t have this. I’m not accepting that. Even Rashid Khan doesn’t like it.”

“It’s just delay tactics. I get it but I don’t like that at all. It is unacceptable. They might have gone off anyway for the rain but that’s not a good look. I know the Euros are going on in football, you’d be better off there,” Doull added while lambasting Naib.

Reacting to Naib’s antics on social media, Australia bowler Adam Zampa posted a screenshot of the visual on his Instagram handle and remarked it to be “the old rainstring.”

Former England captain Michael Vaughan responded to the social media furore over Naib’s act, commenting “Spirit of cricket is alive and kicking” on X. Meanwhile, India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin light-heatedly quipped a “red card for Gulbadin Naib” on social media.

While Naib was initially off the field once the chase resumed, the 33-year-old returned to the field and bowled two crucial overs, conceding only five runs for a wicket.

When asked about Naib’s reactions after the game, skipper Rashid added that his teammate had suffered mild cramps.

“Gulbadin had some cramps I think, hopefully he’ll be alright. That wicket he took was massive for us,” Rashid added.