Shakib Al Hasan under the scanner for Ball Tampering

Cricket and Ball Tampering have gone hand in hand since ages. Many greats of the game have been accused of ball tampering. This time around, the ball is in the court of Bangladesh all rounder Shakib Al Hasan post the 2nd Test match at Chittagong, which the Australians won and equalled the Two-match Test series.

The video of the Bangladeshi talismanic all rounder rubbing the surface of the pitch with the ball, while roughening up the old ball, might have gone unnoticed by the match referees but it is doing rounds all over social media. Bowlers usually use the soil on the surface to provide a better grip on the ball.

But, evidently, Shakib al Hasan opportunistically rubbed the one part of the ball repeatedly to perhaps create reverse swing for the likes of Mustafizur Rahman who was on a roll in the Chittagong Test

“The incident was missed by match officials but it will be interesting to see if the ICC reviews the tape and believes the action constitutes ball tampering. Further footage would need to be examined to establish any guilt, as these are often contentious debates, but in any case, it was an eye-raising move from Shakib given the extremely strict rules the ICC enforces around tampering the ball. Players are forbidden from changing the state or characteristics of the ball by rubbing or scratching,” claimed reports from News.co.au.

Here’s the snippet

This snippet featured in the closer for today's play. Caught my eye. Rubbing the ball on the ground … doesn't seem right #BANvAUS #cricket pic.twitter.com/a2MMo7PCuv

— Paul Cochrane (@paulcochrane) September 6, 2017

Many greats in the past have been involved in Ball tampering. The most prominent one in Indian cricket is that of Sachin Tendulkar who was accused of doing the act in his attempt to clean the soil off the seam. South African captain Faf du Plessis faced the brunt of criticism for applying mint on the ball twice and was handed a one match ban which was later upheld. The video of Shahid Afridi biting the ball is still viral on the Youtube.

Here are some of the infamous instances