Umar Gul. -AP Photo

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's fast bowler Umar Gul has claimed that his comments about ball tampering were misconstrued by the media.

Gul's statement comes after reports that he accused England fast bowlers James Anderson and Stuart Broad of ball tampering last year.

“I was asked to respond generally to Shoaib Akhtar's recently made statement on ball tampering. I clarified that the term ball tampering is often misused,” PakPassion.net quoted Gul as saying.

“I was explaining that the ball gets scratched when it is thrown against any rough surface or hits the advertisement boards along the boundary rope. In this manner, I said, every bowler can be accused of doing it,” he added.

Gul had earlier said that he had seen Anderson tamper with the ball during the Pakistan-England Test series in England last year, while Broad during the Ashes series.

“I saw Anderson do it last year when we went to England. Then in the Ashes series Broad was seen roughing up the ball with his boots. All these methods are part and parcel of the game to obtain reverse swing with the old ball,” Gul had said.

Opinion

Editorial

Budget presser
14 Jun, 2026

Budget presser

OFFICIAL post-budget media briefings in Pakistan are carefully choreographed affairs, full of reassuring phrases ...
Muharram precautions
14 Jun, 2026

Muharram precautions

WITH Muharram due to start next week, the authorities have already begun annual exercises to ensure that the ...
Blood bequests
14 Jun, 2026

Blood bequests

WORLD Blood Donor Day offers a moment of “gratitude, advocacy and renewed commitment” for thalassaemia patients...
Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...