In a nail-biting encounter, South Africa clinched a thrilling one-wicket victory in Chennai on Friday, further adding to Pakistan’s woes in 2023 World Cup.

During the second innings of the match, Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan suffered a blow to the head while fielding a ground ball. He briefly left the field for medical attention but later returned. However, he was eventually replaced by Usama Mir as a concussion substitute.

While talking on a local sports channel, former Pakistan cricketer Umar Gul expressed his skepticism about Shadab’s injury during the crucial match.

“We don’t know what kind of injury he has sustained, but questions arise when you fall, claim to have a concussion, escape from the team, and go outside. The physio checks you, and then after a while, you come out. There, you chat with people and then leave. When the match gets tight, and you realize it is going in our favor, you sit outside in the dugout, cheering. It means you’ve made an excuse; you’ve saved yourself. So people will definitely question it,” Gul said.

“It was an important game and as a senior, you had to be there on the pitch. There are many examples when players have continued to play in spite of broken hands as they chose to fight for the sake of the team. I don’t agree with Shadab. I don’t think he had a serious injury,” he further added.

Sohail Tanvir and Umar Gul accuse Shadab Khan of ‘running away’ and that his injury didn’t look serious pic.twitter.com/JIYC1HLl9c

— Ghumman (@emclub77) October 27, 2023

Shadab’s replacement, Usama Mir, put up a commendable performance, taking two crucial wickets, including that of set batsman Aiden Markram, who appeared determined to guide South Africa to victory.

Pakistan’s next match in the World Cup is set to take place against Bangladesh in Kolkata on Tuesday.