Ben Stokes denies alleging that India conspired against Pakistan in World Cup 2019

England star Ben Stokes has denied ever explicitly alleging that India threw away a crucial match against his team in World Cup 2019 in a bid to indirectly knock Pakistan out of the tournament.

Stokes caused a public storm when excerpts from his book emerged online in which he questioned the intent of Indian batsmen, wondering why the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and especially MS Dhoni batted so casually against England when such a mammoth total was in front of them.

The World Cup-winner only narrated how he felt, describing what he saw that day as "bizarre" but did not explicitly make an allegation - perhaps for the threat that it could lead to a defamation lawsuit.

However, the fans and cricket experts did what he could not, making the connection and deducing that Indian players may have conspired against Pakistan. It is pertinent to mention that the said 2019 match had come just a few months after an Indian fighter jet and its pilot, Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, were shot down by Pakistan Air Force.

After Stokes' revealing yet safely worded insinuation caused an uproar, even within the Pakistan Cricket Board, the all-rounder, in a bid to do some damage control, took to Twitter to clarify that he did not accuse the Indian team of anything.

Stokes, who plays for Rajasthan Royals in the cash-rich Indian Premier League, accused Pakistani media of misreporting his narration of the incident, even calling it "twisting of words” or “click bait".

Comments

Submit