Pakistan is currently sitting at the top of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Group A with 4 points, thanks to victories over Netherlands and USA.
Their spinner, Usman Tariq, played a key role in the latter win, taking 3 wickets for 27 runs in his 4-over spell. However, what made headlines, once again, was his bowling action, which has found itself at the centre of controversy on quite a few occasions.
Tariq has often been accused of chucking, and his brief pause right before delivering has also been questioned. Former Indian cricketer, Shreevats Goswami, was also among those who flagged the pause, but Tariq found support from another Indian cricket legend, R Ashwin.
"Even football doesn’t allow players to pause during a penalty run-up anymore. How is this ok? Action - all good. But pause ? That too while loading to deliver. This can’t be continued seriously !", was what Shreevats Goswami stated on X regarding Usman Tariq's bowling action.
Ashwin responded to the tweet by question why batsmen could play switch-hits or reverse-hits without prior information.
"Agree football doesn’t allow it! While the batter can be allowed to switch hit or reverse without informing the umpire or bowler, after him/her commits to start batting on one side, why are the restrictions only limited to the bowler?"
He continued, "In fact the bowler isn’t allowed to change the arm with which he/she bowls without informing the umpire! They should first change that rule."
Ashwin, a veteran spinner, would himself take a brief pause while bowling on some occasions. His defense of Usman Tariq comes right before the marquee India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup clash.
After much back-and-forth drama, the India vs Pakistan fixture is all set to be played on February 15, 2026.
It is supposed to kick off at 7:00 PM IST at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
