When Saqlain Mushtaq Hid His Wife In His Closet During The 1999 World Cup

Saqlain Mushtaq, former Pakistan spinner, recently revealed an incident from the 1999 World Cup where he had to hide his wife in the cupboard of his hotel room.

Mushtaq recently appeared on Raunak Kapoor’s show ‘Beyond The Field’ where he revealed how he as a cricketer he never wanted to change things around.

Midway, through the 1999 World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board [PCB] had suddenly asked his players to send their families home.

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“True! This is absolutely true,” revealed Saqlain Mushtaq while replying to a fan’s question about the incident.

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Saqlain Mushtaq narrates the story of how he hid his wife in him cupboard

Saqlain Mushtaq revealed how he took the punt and decided against following the rule. He revealed how he hid his wife in the cupboard when the board members came to check the room.

“Actually I got married in December 1998. My wife used to stay in London so in 1999 World Cup I stayed with my wife and there was a set pattern – work hard and train like a true professional with the team during day time and in the evenings I used to spend time with my wife. But suddenly they said that our families will be sent back home. So I told our head coach Richard Pybus, that everything is going so smooth then why this sudden change. I am someone who likes to keep the things as they are and don’t feel the need to try out new things for no reason. I decided that I’m not gonna follow this,” Saqlain Mushtaq said

“The manager, coaches used to come and check our rooms. Some players also used to come for a chat. So one day when I heard a knock on the door, I told my wife to go and hide inside the cupboard. The manager came, had a look and went back. Another official came and went back. And all this while my wife was inside the cupboard. Then Azhar (Mahmood) and Yusuf came to have a chat with me about the new rules. They suspected that my wife was in the room. After they insisted I gave in. So I asked my wife to finally come out of the closet,” he added.

“I managed to get away with it as after we lost the final to Australia, the atmosphere was very heavy, everyone was down. I went back to my hotel, checked out and told my wife to go to my apartment which was also in London. I used to play county cricket so they had they had given me an apartment there,” added Saqlain Mushtaq.

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