‘Stop the hate’: Tabraiz Shamsi leaps to Quinton de Kock’s defense

South Africa spinner Tabraiz Shamsi has come out in defense of his teammate Quinton de Kock who is being criticized in the media for attempting "fake fielding" to get Fakhar Zaman out during the second one-day international (ODI) against Pakistan on Sunday.

“Just to clarify QDK [Quinton de Kock] was NOT speaking to or pointing at the batsman,” Shamsi said on Twitter. “He was asking a fielder to back up at the non strikers end. Not Quinny’s fault the batman turned around to see instead of completing the run safely which he should have done. Stop the hate and leave QDK alone.”

De Kock was under fire on social media after Fakhar, who was just seven runs short of scoring a double-ton, was dismissed controversially off a direct hit by Aiden Markram.

The batsman, while taking a second run, had slowed down his running after de Kock had pointed for the ball to be thrown towards the other batsman’s end. The wicket-keeper’s gesture ensured Fakhar doesn’t reach the crease on time.

However, Shamsi found the incident “funny” and believes the onus is on the batsman to stay focused and complete the run.

“It's not funny that the batsman stopped running instead of completing the run?” he asked. “Lets’ not take the attention away from a great innings that he played and give him credit for that. The batman's job in that instance was to complete the run [and] that’s all.” 

Read: South Africa captain lauds 'clever' de Kock on Fakhar Zaman run-out

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