T20 World Cup 2021: 5 Controversial moments in the mega event

Australia lifted their maiden T20 World Cup title as they dominated the proceedings in the high-profile tournament. It is a no-brainer that the T20 format is filled with a lot of drama and excitement that intrigues the cricket on-lookers. Add to it the ICC event and it further garners the audacity of the matches.

The multination tournament produced some impressive all-round performances. With the suspense, thrill, and competition it brought, it entertained the ardent cricket fans. However, when it comes to the ICC tournament, it is quite obvious that there are certain things that come into the limelight and grab the attention of the viewers.

In what was an eventful affair, the mega event witnessed a few scenarios that became the topic of discussion all over. As the tournament has winded up, let’s take a look at some controversial scenarios in the game.

5 Controversial moments in T20 World Cup 2021

1. Warner hitting Mohammad Hafeez’s double bounce delivery for a six

In what was a crucial match for Australia, David Warner played an impressive yet eventful knock of 49 runs. His innings, however, caught the attention of the netizens not only because of his splendid show with the willow but for a few surprising things that followed.

The batter hit Mohammad Hafeez’s double bounce delivery for a six, and that generated a lot of discussion on social media platforms. This did not go quite well with a few former cricketers as they criticized Warner for the same. Some of them opined that the batter should have left the delivery to maintain the spirit of the game.

What an absolutely pathetic display of spirit of the game by Warner! #Shameful What say @ashwinravi99? pic.twitter.com/wVrssqOENW

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) November 11, 2021

While on the other hand, the batter received support from head coach Justin Langer who found it quite impressive. “Oh my gosh! It’s one of the best things I have ever seen in the game of cricket. I don’t think anyone would have the instincts to do that,” Langer said post the match.

2. Quinton De Kock’s denial to take a knee in the match against West Indies

At the toss, South Africa’s skipper Temba Bavuma stated that Quinton De Kock has opted out of the match against West Indies owing to personal reasons. Later it was reported that it was his denial to take the knee. This led to discussions all around the cricketing fraternity wherein the on-lookers came forward with their opinions.

Since last year, several teams have been taking a knee in order to support the Black Lives Matter Movement. Cricket South Africa had issued a statement and made it mandatory for all the players to take a knee ahead of their remaining matches of the mega event. The keeper-batter’s decision thus fetched him a lot of criticism wherein quite a few experts did not like it. While a few others came in his support stating that it was his personal choice.

Later, De Kock came forward with an apology for the same. He had asserted that the Black Lives Matter Movement is extremely close to his heart. He further added that the way things turned out on the matchday was not to his liking which made him take the decision.

Quinton de Kock statement 📝 pic.twitter.com/Vtje9yUCO6

— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) October 28, 2021

3. Mohammed Shami facing online abuse post India’s loss against Pakistan

A lot of social media abuse was aimed at India’s pacer Mohammed Shami after India’s defeat against their arch-rivals Pakistan. The Men in Green dominated the proceedings to break India’s 12 matches winning streak against them in World Cups. However post the match, Shami was placed under major scrutiny for his dismaying outing in the match.

Even though Virat Kohli had stated that his side had been outplayed, Shami was made the target for the loss. Quite a few viewers targeted his religion as the pacer had to face backlashes. Shami went wickless in the match against  Pakistan and the speedster also conceded a lot of runs that placed him under the scanner.

However, the cricketing fraternity came in support of him and asked the on-lookers to back team India no matter what. Not only this, but a few politicians also urged support for the pacer.

When we support #TeamIndia, we support every person who represents Team India. @MdShami11 is a committed, world-class bowler. He had an off day like any other sportsperson can have.

I stand behind Shami & Team India.

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 25, 2021

4. Waqar Younis’ statement post-Pakistan’s win

The former Pakistan cricketer Waqar Younis made a controversial statement post Pakistan’s victory against India. Speaking to ARY news he had said, “The manner in which Babar and Rizwan batted, the strike-rotation, the look on their faces, it was amazing. The best thing, what Rizwan did, Mashallah, he offered the Namaz on the ground surrounded by Hindus, that was really something very special for me.”

His statement led to major outrage across the social media platforms. People reacted in numbers to Younis’ shocking statement after Pakistan’s historic win over India in the multination tournament. The former cricketers and fans as well did not find the statement right and that placed the former Pakistan cricketer under the scanner.

He later took it to his official Twitter account to apologize for his statement. He pointed that in the heat of the moment he said something that he did not mean. “In the heat of the moment, I said something which I did not mean which has hurt the sentiments of many. I apologize for this, this was not intended at all, a genuine mistake. Sports unite people regardless of race, color, or religion. #apologies,” his Tweet read.

In the heat of the moment, I said something which I did not mean which has hurt the sentiments of many. I apologise for this, this was not intended at all, genuine mistake. Sports unites people regardless of race, colour or religion. #apologies 🙏🏻

— Waqar Younis (@waqyounis99) October 26, 2021

5. India vs Afghanistan toss controversy

India had locked horns with Afghanistan in what was a crucial match for them in the T20 World Cup 2021. However, ahead of the start of the match, there were certain talks that went all viral on the social media platforms regarding the toss. Mohammad Nabi had won the toss and he was reported to have told his counterpart his decision even before telling it to the broadcaster.

The video of the toss thus started making rounds on Twitter and other social media platforms. And a certain section of fans started trending the hashtags of the match been fixed.  The former England cricketer David Gower had also opened up on this controversy and had stated that he wasn’t worried about such claims.

Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif also opined on this matter. “When a toss takes place between two captains, one captain tells the other what he wants to do. So Nabi told Kohli ‘we will bowl first’. However, later you have to say the same thing officially, so he repeated it,” Rashid Latif had said.