India and Pakistan, whenever they go against each other in a cricket match, memories are made be it bitter or sweet. The Venkatesh Prasad vs Amir Sohail battle remains one of the most memorable ones in the minds of both fans while Virat Kohli vs Mohammad Amir was the most recent one. Harbhajan Singh, narrating one such incident, revealed how he apologised to the great Wasim Akram after hitting him for a four during the initial days of his cricketing career.
The Ashes could be the pinnacle of cricket as far as the rivalry between two teams is concerned in Test cricket, but in limited overs circuit, it’s the India vs Pakistan clash that surpasses all others in the sport. Though Indo-Pak bilateral cricket has been up for grabs in only the multi-team tournaments.
With the ICC Champions Trophy final 2017 being the last one, the two teams will be up against each other once again in the Asia Cup 2018, having been drawn in Group A. Ahead of the match, Bhajji, in a chat with IndiaToday, revealed the incident.
“Wasim bhai was my hero and it was my third fourth Test match but playing against him was a huge thing, I was scared to bat against him. But somehow I touched my bat to his ball and it went for four. On his way back, he was like “teri…” and I was like… “Paaji, galti ho gai,” he said.
For the Asia Cup clash between India and Pakistan on September 19, many former cricketers have chosen favourites to win the tie. Misbah-ul-Haq, the ex-Pakistan cricket team captain, has put Sarfraz Ahmed’s men as slight favourites.
“Three teams can win the tournament including Bangladesh. But overall I have picked Pakistan because they know the conditions well in Dubai. Our bowlers have a good idea on how to bowl here in UAE”, said Misbah.
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, meanwhile, has given the same reason to put Pakistan above India in race for the title. Sarfraz’s men had secured a whopping 8-wicket win over Hong Kong in their opening fixtures. Rohit Sharma’s India open their account against Hong Kong on Tuesday before taking on Pakistan.