[Watch] Gulbadin Naib apparently fakes injury after Afghanistan coach asks team to slow it down when rain starts to fall in AFG vs BAN clash

In one of the most dramatic moments of the 2024 T20 World Cup, Afghanistan's Gulbadin Naib seemed to be faking an injury to delay the proceedings in the Super 8 match against Bangladesh. The incident happened in the 12th over, with Bangladesh chasing Afghanistan's 116 and batting at 81/7 in a game that had already seen multiple rain interruptions.

As the drizzle resumed out of nowhere, Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott signaled his team to slow it down, apparently asking them to find ways (like extra field changes or discussions) to bowl as few deliveries as possible.

Seeing that, Naib, standing at slips, suddenly held his hamstring and fell, inviting the physio's attention and the umpire to stop the game. Simon Doull on air fumed at what he was seeing, complaining that there is no place for such actions in cricket.

Watch the scene here:

It made sense for the Afghans. At that time, they were just two runs ahead of the DLS par score for Bangladesh. Had the game been washed out, Afghanistan would've been through to the semifinals. Had Afghanistan bowled another ball and Bangladesh scored a boundary off it before a wash-out, the Bangla Tigers would have gone ahead.

Even Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan looked unhappy with Naib. But just then, the rain got heavier and the game was halted. Thankfully for the neutrals, though, it was only a short break, and the game resumed soon, with only one over lost.

Gulbadin Naib comes back to take a wicket after the break

To make it more amazing and memorable, Naib remained out of the field for a while after the resumption but then came back, looking completely fit, bowled his first over in the 15th of the innings, and took a wicket on the second ball.

Tanzim Hasan Sakib couldn't keep his short ball down and had to go, much to the chuckle of Doull, who summed it up brilliantly by calling it "paper hamstring but a golden arm!".

Catch all the live action from the riveting game here.