Was Usman Tariq’s bowling action illegal? When Tom Banton became the victim of the ball, Pakistani bowler got angry.

By Samira Vishwas On Jan 2, 2026

The Qualifier-1 match of ILT20 2025-26, played on Tuesday (30 December), has come into discussion more due to controversy than cricket. During this match played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, MI Emirates batsman Tom Banton directly accused Desert Vipers spinner Usman Tariq of chucking i.e. suspicious bowling action.

The incident occurred in the 12th over of MI Emirates’ innings, when Usman Tariq dismissed Tom Banton who was batting dangerously. Banton had scored 63 runs in 27 balls at that time and was trying his best to keep MI Emirates in the match.

Usman Tariq bowled a slower ball, which was outside the off stump and not very full. Banton tried to play a pull shot, but the timing went wrong and the ball went in the air towards long-off, where Desert Vipers captain Sam Curran took a brilliant catch.

As soon as the wicket fell, Usman Tariq was immersed in celebration, but on the other hand Tom Banton looked angry. It was clearly heard in the cameras that Banton was repeatedly pointing towards the bowler and shouting “Throwing the ball”. That means he directly accused Tariq of illegal action.

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At present, no official statement has come from the umpire or ILT20 officials on this matter. Now it will be interesting to see whether any action is taken on Banton’s allegations or the matter rests here.

Talking about the match, Desert Vipers batted first and scored a huge score of 233 thanks to a brilliant century (120 runs) by Andries Gaus. In reply, MI Emirates team could reach only 188 runs and lost the match by 45 runs. In his debut match, Usman Tariq played a key role in taking Desert Vipers to the ILT20 final by taking three wickets.