Pakistan legend Shahid Afridi has accused the ICC of 'ensuring' India make the T20 World Cup finals, following their latest victory over Bangladesh. After stumbling to defeat against South Africa, India's fate in the competition remained in the balance.
They headed into their recent clash with Bangladesh knowing victory was a must, and went on to secure the all-important win - albeit controversially. In the rain-affected match India were guided to victory by Virat Kohli but while fielding, the star was accused of 'cheating'.
Speaking after the match, Afridi said: "Given the amount of rain that happened, the [India v Bangladesh] game [still] resumed immediately after the break. It is very evident that that ICC, with India playing...there is pressure that comes with it, there are many factors involved."
Kohli once again starred with the bat, hitting an unbeaten 64 from 44 balls to help his team set a target of 184 for their opponents.
A lightening start from the Bangladeshi's saw them score 68 runs in their opening seven overs thanks to opener Litton Das who smashed 60 from just 27 balls, to put the underdogs well on track for their winning target. The game was then interrupted though thanks to a downpour, leading to revised target of 151 with nine overs remaining.
Following a strong effort from India in the field, Bangladesh fell just short of their Duckworth-Lewis target, losing the game by five runs. Despite their victory, there were calls for India to be deducted five runs, following the actions of star man Kohli.
As a result, during the Bangladeshi innings the batsman was accused of 'fake-fielding' after appearing to fake throw a ball towards the wicketkeepers' end in order to draw the chance of a run out. By the letter of the law, Kohli should have been penalised five runs for his un-sportsman like behaviour.
Regarding the ruling, the ICC state: "It is unfair for any fielder willfully to attempt, by word or action, to distract, deceive or obstruct either batsman after the striker has received the ball." Bangladeshi wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan expressed his dismay at Kohli's antics.
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Post-match he said: "You saw that we had to play in a wet outfield, but there was also a case of fake fielding which also didn't go our way."
One man who was also left unimpressed is Afridi, who hinted that Rohit Sharma's side were receiving favourable treatment from the ICC.
