In the T20 World Cup 2024 , everyone’s talking about Gulbadin Naib’s fake injury stunt that went viral. During a thrilling match against Bangladesh, Gulbadin pretended to hurt his hamstring to buy time on the field. His antics became a huge hit, with Afghan players sharing memes about it on social media.

After making history by reaching the semi-finals for the first time, Afghanistan’s players kept the fun going off the field. They defeated Bangladesh in a nail-biting match in Kingstown, St Vincent. Gulbadin Naib’s playful time-wasting move during the tense game caught everyone’s attention.

Memes about Gulbadin’s ‘fake injury’ quickly spread after Tuesday’s match. Naveen-ul-Haq, a fast bowler, shared a hilarious meme referencing a famous scene from the Bollywood movie ‘Welcome’ to tease Gulbadin. His teammates, like Mohammad Nabi, joined in on the laughter.

Watch Afghan All-Rounder Gulbadin ‘welcome’ meme

The whole incident started in the 12th over of Bangladesh’s innings when Gulbadin suddenly fell, clutching his hamstring. With Afghanistan ahead by 2 runs by the Duckworth Lewis Stern method and rain looming, coach Jonathan Trott signaled to slow down the game to maintain their advantage. Responding to the signal, Gulbadin pulled off his dramatic act, ensuring Afghanistan went into the rain break with the upper hand.

After a brief break, Gulbadin returned to the field and even took a wicket shortly after, dispelling any injury fears. His energetic presence continued in the post-match celebrations, where he sprinted joyfully across the ground. This victory meant Afghanistan knocked out Australia, the 2021 champions, from the semi-final race.

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Rashid Khan’s take on the controversial incident

Captain Rashid Khan played down Gulbadin’s antics, saying it didn’t affect the game’s outcome. Bangladesh was bowled out for 105, failing to chase down Afghanistan’s 114 in the rain-affected match.

“Well, he had some cramp, I don’t know what happened to him and I don’t know what’s going on in social media but that doesn’t matter – it’s just the end field injury which comes and then we haven’t lost any overs, the rain came and we just went off, it’s not something like brought a massive difference in the game,” Rashid said.

“We came back on field after five minutes and there was no massive difference. For me, it’s just like a small injury comes in, then you have to take some time,” he added.

Afghanistan’s first-ever T20 World Cup Semi-Final entry

Looking ahead, Afghanistan will face South Africa in the first semi-final in Trinidad on Wednesday, while India will take on England in the second semi-final on Thursday in Guyana.

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