Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq added fuel to an already heated controversy after sharing a \u201ccrybaby\u201d meme on social media in response to Australian all-rounder Cameron Green\u2019s questioning of his bowling action during the recent T20I clash.
\nThe meme was widely interpreted as a direct swipe at Green, whose reaction following his dismissal appeared to mock Tariq\u2019s action and sparked uproar across social media.
\nMany Pakistani fans criticised the Australian batter, accusing him of unsportsmanlike behaviour, while others sided with Green and raised concerns over the legality of Tariq\u2019s bowling action.
\nUnder ICC regulations, bowlers are allowed to have a slightly sidearm action, but the elbow extension must not exceed 15 degrees.
\nTariq has previously defended his actions against similar accusations. During the ILT20 final in the United Arab Emirates, English cricketer Tom Banton had questioned the spinner\u2019s action, prompting Tariq to clarify the issue publicly.
\n\u201cThere are two corners on my (elbow) which make it hard for me to straighten,\u201d Tariq had said at the time.
\n\u201cThat makes confusion for the spectators. I have given two tests at labs in Pakistan, and my action was cleared.\u201d
\nCricket broadcaster Paul Dennett also stepped into the debate, voicing support for the Pakistan spinner and criticising the online backlash.
\n\u201cUsman Tariq deserves better,\u201d Dennett wrote on X.
\n\u201cHis action has twice been tested \u2014 and cleared. Today should be a day to celebrate contributing to a win, not getting blasted on social media.
\n\u201cCricket needs to handle this issue better. And people need to stop being cruel.\u201d
\nThe controversy overshadowed Pakistan\u2019s dominant performance at the Gaddafi Stadium, where the World Cup-bound Australians suffered a heavy 90-run defeat.
\nChasing Pakistan\u2019s imposing 198-run total on a low and slow pitch, Australia collapsed for 108, with all 10 wickets falling to spin inside just 16 overs.
\n\u201cPakistan outplayed us,\u201d Australian captain Mitch Marsh admitted after the match.
\n\u201cHopefully, we can improve and come back tomorrow. We weren\u2019t able to build partnerships today, so there are some really good lessons for us.\u201d
\nThe episode has reignited broader debate over bowling actions, player conduct and the role of social media in amplifying on-field tensions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq added fuel to an already heated controversy after sharing a \u201ccrybaby\u201d meme on social media in response to Australian all-rounder Cameron Green\u2019s questioning of his bowling action during the recent T20I clash. The meme was widely interpreted as a direct swipe at Green, whose reaction following his dismissal appeared to mock …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":93073,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93070"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93101,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93070\/revisions\/93101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}