Dubai : Mudassar Nazar, International Cricket Council's Global Cricket Academy coach and a former coach of Pakistan, feels that while Shahid Afridi's attempt to tamper the ball is a one-off instance, bowlers are tempted to change the condition of the ball more these days.
"This is because the laws of the game as well the wickets favour the batsmen more today," said Nazar.
In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Nazar, a former Test allrounder, said: "It is really hard for a bowler at times to get wickets these days. There are restrictions on bowling bouncers and at times, boundaries are being shortened to help batsmen.
"The pitches also favour batsmen. The laws need to be sympathetic to bowlers too. Even Twenty20, the latest version of the game, is in favour of the batsmen," he added.
According to Nazar, bowlers are tampering with balls due to the success rate from such acts. "Tampering [with] the ball often results in a team collapsing from 100 for no loss to 135 all out. It is natural that a player may attempt to push the law. It not only happens in cricket but even rugby and even baseball," he added.
Nazar called for mastering more techniques instead of indulging in tampering. "Bowlers should master the art of reverse swing instead of attempting to generate swing through tampering the ball. It is not easy to get wickets by bowling yorkers or using other methods. They should learn to utilise different conditions too," said Nazar, who was also the chief coach of the Pakistan's National Cricket Academy.
Lack of matches
Asked about Pakistan's dismal show in Australia, Nazar said: "Pakistan's major problem is lack of international matches. Instead of being sympathetic to their condition, pressure mounts on the players and the board whenever a series or a tournament is lost. It prevents the board from taking stock of the situation and leads to making unnecessary changes to the team."
