Shoaib Akhtar slammed England fast bowler Jofra Archer for not showing courtesy on injured Steve Smith. Steve Smith was hit on his neck by a deadly 148 kmph bouncer by Archer. The former Pakistan pacer criticized Jofra Archer for leaving off the field when Smith was in pain.
“Bouncers are a part & parcel of the game but whenever a bowler hits a batsman on the head and he falls, courtesy requires that the bowler must go & check on him. It was not nice of Archer to just walk away while Smith was in pain. I was always the first one to run to the batsman,” – Shoaib Akhtar tweeted.
Bouncers are a part & parcel of the game but whenever a bowler hits a batsman on the head and he falls, courtesy requires that the bowler must go & check on him. It was not nice of Archer to just walk away while Smith was in pain. I was always the first one to run to the batsman.
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) August 18, 2019
After Smith was hit by a bouncer on the field, he was collapsed on the grounds and retired hurt after receiving on-field treatment.
Former Indian Cricketer Yuvraj Singh made a hilarious comment to the Shoaib Akhtar tweet. Yuvraj admitted that the Pakistani did check up on rival batsmen and said Shoaib Akhtar’s actual words were not those of comfort, rather a warning.
“Yes you did! But your actual words were hope your alright mate cause there are a few more coming” – Yuvraj Singh tweeted.
Yes you did ! But your actual words were hope your alright mate cause there are a few more coming 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤪
— yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) August 19, 2019
Later on, Steve Smith was ruled out of Second Ashes on the final day. Eventually, Cricket Australia made an announcement on Sunday that Smith suffered a delayed concussion response to the blow.
“Steve has been closely monitored by medical staff overnight and this morning reported that after sleeping well, he woke with ‘a bit of a headache and a feeling of grogginess’,” – Spokesman Australian team said.
Marnus Labuschagne was the first concussion substitute in Test history after Australia’s request was approved by match referee Ranjan Madugalle.