5 Instances When Pakistan Cricketers Disrespected Cricketers From India

There is Australia-England, Australia-India, and then there is India and Pakistan – a cricketing rivalry like none other. The two nations from sub-continent share a vast political history, dating back to the start when Pakistan were separated from India in the year 1947. Due to their political folklore and the bloodshed between their armies, the tensions escalate when they lock horns in the cricketing field.

The men in green and the men in blue continuously keep taking jibes at each other with regards to each other performances. While the Indian media don’t hold back in taking a dig on their neighbours, there are numerous instances when Pakistan cricketers have passed unprofessional and unethical comments on their counterparts. The same has resulted in intense backlash from India.

We at Cricket Addictor will take a look at five instances when Pakistan cricketers disrespected their equivalent from India:

Read More: Top 5 Expensive Cricket Coaches Around The World

Javed Miandad’s jibe on Irfan Pathan:

Back in the day when Irfan Pathan made his debut in the year 2003, his swing bowling resonated Wasim Akram’s at his peak. Before India’s Test series in Pakistan, their legendary batsman Javed Miandad was asked to rate India’s bowling, especially the left-arm seamer. In an interview with Rediff cricket, the 62-year old didn’t spare the young seamer by saying that fast bowlers like Irfan are available in every nook and corner of Pakistan, and hence don’t receive enough attention. The former Pakistan captain went on to say that Irfan Pathan can’t make the same impact as Shoaib Akhtar or Mohammad Sami. His exact quote was:

“Your Irfan Pathans are in every gully and mohalla(side streets) of Pakistan. We don’t even bother to look at them. “I am not saying he [Pathan] is bad. All I am saying is that he is all right for India. But Pathan can’t scare us. He simply does not have the pace. What Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami can do against Indian batsmen, Pathan cannot do against our batsmen

The comment largely backfired since Pakistan lost that Test series by 2-1. The 2003-04 series saw Irfan Pathan take 12 wickets in three Tests. In the series against their neighbours in 2005-06, the left-arm pacer from Baroda took a hattrick in the first over of the third Test in Karachi, dismissing Mohammad Yousuf, Salman Butt, and Younis Khan.

Abdul Razzaq’s comparison of Ahmed Shehzad with Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar:

Abdul Razzaq was one of the destructive batting all-rounders that Pakistan ever had. However, contrary to his playing abilities, his comments in talk shows in the recent past have left the cricketing fraternity perplexed and enraged. The first instance ensued when the former all-rounder said in one of the talk shows that Ahmed Shehzad could have surpassed the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.

He said as quoted by Times Now “Ahmed Shehzad was a great talent. With the kind of potential he had, he could have left Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag behind,”

Ahmed Shehzad undoubtedly was one of the talented opening batsmen that the men in green had. However, his fitness concerns, lack of commitment, and disciplinary reasons didn’t bode well for him. Even with Shehzad fully utilising his talent, claims of leaving behind the illustrious pair of Sehwag and Tendulkar is genuinely an absurd statement.

Read More: Bangladesh Women’s Team Bowl Out Maldives For 6, Register Third Biggest T20I Win

Shahid Afridi and Sachin Tendulkar:

Shahid Afridi is vocal even on the field and off the ground. Like most Pakistan cricketers, he has found himself centred around some controversy or the other. When India and Pakistan clash, especially at the World Cup, it becomes a riveting scene. The fact that the men in blue hold the wood over their arch-rivals at the grandest stage, makes it more of a high voltage clash.  Speaking of the same, Shahid Afridi backed Shoaib Akhtar’s claims in his autobiography “Controversially Yours” that once Sachin Tendulkar looked frightened when the captain handed the ball to Shoaib.

However, he didn’t mention the game. He further claimed that the little master felt nervous while facing Saeed Ajmal in their 2011 World Cup clash. The swashbuckling all-rounder conceded that while fielding at square leg, he saw Tendulkar’s legs shivering. Backtracking to an example of the 2003 World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar was in blistering touch. He came out all guns blazing in pursuit of 274 against Pakistan. The run-machine manhandled the Pakistan bowlers, including Shoaib Akhtar in his breezy knock of 98 off 75 balls to script a resounding victory for India. While the speedster from Rawalpindi took Sachin’s wicket, it was not before he had guided India to the doorstep of victory.

“He (Tendulkar) was scared of Shoaib. I have seen it myself. I was fielding at square leg and saw his legs trembling when Shoaib came on to bowl. During the World Cup, he also looked scared of Saeed Ajmal. It’s not a big deal, players do feel the pressure at times and it becomes difficult,” Afridi said as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Read More: Ravichandran Ashwin Hopeful Of Representing India In ICC T20 World Cup

Abdul Razzaq on Jasprit Bumrah:

The 40-year old all-rounder hogged the limelight yet again for his remarks off the field. This time Abdul Razzaq targeted India’s pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah. Since his debut in 2016, the lanky pacer had taken huge strides and established himself as among the best bowlers in the world.

During an interview with cricketpakistan.com.pk, Razzaq said that after facing bowlers like Wasim Akram and Glenn McGrath, Bumrah is a “baby bowler” and that he could have dominated him with ease. For his comments, the all-rounder became the butt of many jokes around social media. His exact quotes were as below.

“I have played against great bowlers like Glenn Mcgrath and Wasim Akram, so Bumrah is a baby bowler in front of me, and I could have easily dominated and attacked him. After having faced world-class bowlers in my time, I would have had no problem against a bowler like Bumrah. The pressure would have been on him.”

Read More: Eoin Morgan To Lead London Spirit In “The Hundred” Competition

Basit Ali slamming the Indian team after their match against England in the World Cup:

Pakistan started their World Cup campaign on a horrendous note, losing to the Windies by a massive margin. They also faced an enormous defeat to their arch-rivals, India, requiring them to win the rest of their games by an unthinkably huge margin and needing favours from other teams.

The encounter between India and England was a do or die for the latter. Setting 338 to win for India, the English bowlers made early inroads and didn’t let India off the hook for the rest of the innings. The men in blue eventually lost the match by 31 runs. A victory for India could have been significant favour to their neighbours. However, their defensive approach almost throughout the innings was received with widespread criticism.

Former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali had already predicted that India would lose the game deliberately to push Pakistan on the brink of elimination. Post the match; he spoke to a Pakistan news channel saying that the Indian batsman didn’t pace their innings properly, keeping in mind the mammoth chase.

“If you are chasing 337 runs and in the first ten overs you only make 28 runs in which two fielders are in the outer circle, then according to me India played those ten overs really bad. They had a picnic on the field. The batsmen were just making sure they were in good form. Rohit Sharma scored a century at his own time, Virat Kohli score his 66 so leisurely. It was just (Hardik) Pandya who was hitting and scored 45 off 33 balls.”

Read More: 10 Cricketers Caught In Embarrassing Moments