"I know he is wasting time" - Former DC all-rounder's stunning claim on Rishabh Pant's delay tactics during India's 2024 T20 World Cup final win

Former Delhi Capitals (DC) all-rounder Gulbadin Naib made an interesting claim about India's 2024 T20 World Cup final win and Rishabh Pant's delay tactics during the game. Gulbadin recently had a conversation with famous YouTuber Shubhankar Mishra.

Notably, the Afghanistan all-rounder was in the Delhi Capitals in 2024 when Pant was the captain. During the 2024 T20 World Cup final between India and South Africa, Pant seemed to have an injury on the field. South Africa were cruising during the chase, and it was possibly a tactic to break their momentum through a temporary halt.

Gulbadin claimed, funnily, that the moment Pant went down, he knew that the wicketkeeper was looking to buy time and slow things down.

"Rishabh Pant is a mastermind. He thinks a lot. His approach is very different. I was with him at Delhi Capitals, right? When you stay close to Indians and watch movies and stuff, you get some idea of these things (laughing). The moment he did that, I saw it and was like I know he is wasting time," he said. (22:16)

India had put up a challenging total of 176/7 in the final after they batted first. South Africa needed just 30 runs from as many deliveries with six wickets in hand. However, the Men in Blue came back strong to win the game by seven runs.

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"It helped India also a lot" - Gubadin Naib opens up on his delay tactics against Bangladesh during 2024 T20 World Cup

Gulbadin Naid had an apparent cramp to slow things down during their 2024 T20 World Cup game against Bangladesh. Afghanistan needed to win to qualify for the semi-final. Bangladesh had fallen behind on the DLS par score with a rain threat looming, and Gulbadin then went down.

Notably, Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott had signalled to the players to slow things down with the rain threat. Gulbadin opened up on the incident and reckoned that it helped India as well. Afghanistan won the game and not only qualified but knocked Australia out of the tournament.

"After that scene against Bangladesh, Trott did not talk to me for two days. He used to look at me and laugh and walk away. He had made that signal to me, and I was standing at slip, and he would not leave me then. Najibullah Zadran had told me that we were behind (on DLS) and when the signal came, we were ahead," he said. (19:49)

"And then I saw the coach. I was telling the keeper also to do something but he wasn't listening to me. I thought I had to do something then. But see it helped India also a lot," he added.

Rohit Sharma and his troops faced England in the semi-final and registered a comfortable 68-run win. Afghanistan crumbled against South Africa in the semi-final. They suffered a nine-wicket loss that ended their successful campaign.