Former England batter Dawid Malan has stunned the cricketing world with a controversial statement. Malan, who retired from international cricket in 2024, recently suggested that ball-tampering should be legalised in a controlled manner to restore balance between bat and ball. His comments came just weeks after the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was rocked by a ball-tampering controversy involving batter Fakhar Zaman and pacers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf. Following the incident, Zaman was handed a two-match ban for his involvement.
Speaking on BBC’s Strategic Timeout podcast, Malan stated that ball-tampering is not a new issue in cricket and argued that cricket boards should consider legalising it under regulated conditions.
“Historically, throughout the game, people have been caught trying to tamper with the ball for years. It’s not a new thing,” Malan said. “I actually think you should legalise it – just let people scratch the ball. Obviously, do not bring things in from outside. But it’s a skill in itself to get the ball to reverse swing.”
Legalise ball tampering?!
Dawid Malan has a radical suggestion to shake up cricket.
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The former Punjab Kings batter further added that legalising ball-tampering could make conditions more favourable for bowlers, particularly in the death overs.
“I think it would make cricket a lot more bowler-friendly towards the end if you can get the ball reversing. It would make games tighter, rather than teams winning comfortably with six wickets in hand,” he said.
“Batters are so skilled now that if you can gain any tactical advantage with the ball – shaping it a little, reverse swinging it – you want to do everything you can. If you can get the ball to move, it makes a huge difference at the death, which are the hardest overs to bowl,” Malan added.
For the unversed, Australian stars David Warner and Steve Smith were banned from international and domestic cricket for 12 months, while Cameron Bancroft received a nine-month ban after the trio were found guilty of ball-tampering during a Test match against South Africa in 2018.
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