Shoaib Akhtar Reveals He Went Looking For Harbhajan Singh To Fight With Him Post Their Asia Cup 2010 Altercation

Shoaib Akhtar and altercations? Tell me is there a better love story than this? During the course of his 14-year-old career, the Rawalpindi Express got embroiled in a plethora of ugly altercations whether it was with his teammates, opposition players, or even his coach.

One such incident took place during the 2010 Asia Cup encounter between India and Pakistan when Akhtar got involved in a verbal tussle with another hot-headed personality in ‘turbanator’ Harbhajan Singh.

It all started when Harbhajan stroked Shoaib for six in the 47th over. An angry Akhtar proceeded to attack Harbhajan with a couple of bouncers following which a verbal battle ensued between the duo.

Harbhajan, however, had the last laugh as the off-spinner strokes Mohammad Amir for a huge six in the last over to help India chase down 268.

Also Read: Shoaib Akhtar Hits Back At The ICC; Accuses The Apex Body Of Throwing Neutrality ‘Out Of The Window’

When Shoaib Akhtar went looking for Harbhajan Singh post the 2010 Asia Cup altercation

Akhtar recently opened up about the incident where he revealed that he had even gone looking for Harbhajan in order to settle scores with him.

“I went looking for Harbhajan Singh in the hotel room to fight with him. He eats with us, roams around with us in Lahore, culture is similar to us, he is a Punjabi brother and yet he will misbehave with us? I thought I will go and fight with him in the hotel room. He knew that Shoaib was coming. But I couldn’t find him. I calmed down the next day and he had also apologised,” said Shoaib Akhtar revealed in a video interview with Helo.

Harbhajan, in the past, has also revealed that Shoaib had threatened to come to his room and beat him up.

“Shoaib once threatened me he would come to my room and beat me. I told him ‘come, let’s see who beats whom.’ I was really scared. He is a great hulk. He once bashed me and Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh) inside a room. Since he was heavy, it was difficult to catch him,” Harbhajan had said.

Recently, Suresh Raina, who was the partner of Harbhajan when the altercation took place, also opened up about the incident.

“Bhajju paa was a fighter. I remember he had some argument with Shoaib Akhtar but then hit a six to win the match for us,” Suresh Raina had said.

The 2010 Asia Cup encounter between India and Pakistan turned out to be a high-voltage encounter where tempers flayed to the hilt. Before Harbhajan and Shoaib, the likes of Gautam Gambhir, who stroked a brilliant 83, was involved in a heated verbal altercation with Kamran Akmal.

India eventually had the last laugh though as they not only won the game by three wickets but also made their way into the finals where they defeated Sri Lanka to lift the Asia Cup after 15 years.

Also Read: Harbhajan Singh Takes A Subtle Dig At Greg Chappell, Says ‘He Was Playing Different Games’

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