'What about this cheeky giggle?' - Waqar Younis questions Quinton de Kock's intentions over Fakhar Zaman's run-out

The second ODI between South Africa and Pakistan on Sunday ended with an incident that left a bad taste for the fans. The dismissal of Fakhar Zaman in the last over of Pakistan’s run-chase was sort of controversial. The Pakistan opener was unfortunately dismissed for 193, but the manner in which he was dismissed, there was a question raised at Quinton de Kock.

Now, on Monday, Pakistan bowling coach Waqar Younis too posted a tweet that pointed a finger at the South African wicketkeeper. Before the incident, Pakistan needed 31 runs to win from six balls. Zaman smashed a ball to the long-off boundary and was attempting a second run. As he was approaching the strikers’ end to complete the second run, he fell short of the crease.

However, what was interesting was what Quinton de Kock did while Fakhar was running. As the batsman was completing his second run, de Kock pointed his finger to the non-strikers’ end which made Zaman look back. This slowed him down as he got distracted. The subsequent run-out divided fans with polarising opinions.

Shoaib Akhtar leaves it to the fans to decide as Waqar Younis questions de Kock’s cheeky giggle

Pakistan’s bowling coach Waqar Younis put up a tweet with a picture of the incident. The footage of the incident had shown that de Kock laughed cheekily after Zaman was given out, which suggested that he might have done it deliberately to upset the batsman’s rhythm. However, his teammate Tabraiz Shamsi defended him on social media stating that he was just asking a fielder to move to the non-strikers’ end.

Younis questioned what de Kock’s cheeky smile says about his intention. He wrote a caption along with the picture which he posted, “Record breaking inning. Simply Outstanding @FakharZamanLive What about this cheeky giggle from Quinton tells you? #SAvPAK”

Record breaking inning. Simply Outstanding @FakharZamanLive 🇵🇰. What about this cheeky giggle from Quinton tells you 🤔? #SAvPAK pic.twitter.com/5HD0sLYTk1

— Waqar Younis (@waqyounis99) April 4, 2021

Furthermore, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar also posted a poll on Twitter asking his fans if the run-out was in the right spirit of the game. He asked, “Was this run out by @QuinnyDeKock69 against the spirit of the game? I’d leave it for you guys to decide”

Was this run out by @QuinnyDeKock69 against the spirit of the game?
I'd leave it for you guys to decide. 🤐#PAKvSA

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) April 4, 2021

Fakhar Zaman was given out for 193, making him the highest scorer in the second innings of all ODIs. His knock though couldn’t propel his team to win as the visitors went down by just 17 runs in the second ODI. The third and final ODI between the two teams will be played on Wednesday.