'Virat Kohli asked for it...' - Waqar Younis' Controversial Take On No-ball Saga In IND-PAK Tie

On 23 October 2022, India kicked off their 20-20 World Cup campaign with a vital win over arch-rivals Pakistan in Melbourne. After losing the last World Cup match against the arch-rivals, India finally managed to bring back smiles to fans’ faces by winning this tie. The Men in Blue defeated Pakistan by four wickets.

Virat Kohli played a top knock of 82* runs off 53 balls to ensure India’s victory over the Men in Green. But, a controversial incident happened when a no-ball happened during the last over of the match. Regarding that, former Pakistani pacer, Waqar Younis opened up after the match.

“Umpire turned around only after Kohli asked for it” - Waqar Younis

During a conversation with A Sports, Waqar Younis said that umpires called the delivery a no-ball after Virat Kohli asked for it only. He said: "When the ball is about waist-high, the square-leg umpire's first reaction is that he takes his hand out, extends his right hand," Younis said. "He is an experienced umpire. That's his natural reaction. But if you look at the replays, (Erasmus) turns around to see the ball. Then after Virat Kohli asked for it..."

"I am not saying and I don't want to say it's a no-ball or not, I don't want to get into that controversy. But the umpire should have called it there and then. It was Virat Kohli's right to ask for the no-ball and he should do it. The square-leg umpire should have consulted the main umpire and they should have gone upstairs. That's why the third umpire is sitting there. It should have been left to him - he could call it no-ball, six whatever." Waqar Younis concluded.

However, along with him, Wasim Akram also shared his views. He said: “The ball seemed to dip but it's kind of touch and goes. To the naked eye, it did not seem like a no-ball but in slow-motion, it does seem like it dipped … Any batsman will turn and ask for no ball. That’s not his s> fault. Such a big game. You have the technology. Use it. Why flare up things unnecessarily? Because we weren’t there. If me or Waqar were there, we would have spoken our mind there and then.”