During one instance of the match, Malik distracted Ganguly with a mind game of his own and in the very next ball he was sent back to the pavilion. The dismissal made the ex BCCI president so angry that he literally threatened Shoaib.
New Delhi: Whenever there is an India vs Pakistan match, it is quite obvious that the high-octane match will attract record crowd and tempers are also bound to flare on the field. Former Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal shared one anecdote from a 2005 Mohali Test, where then India captain Sourav Ganguly was involved in a banter with batter Shoaib Malik.
During one instance of the match, Malik distracted Ganguly with a mind game of his own and in the very next ball he was sent back to the pavilion. The dismissal made the ex BCCI president so angry that he literally threatened Shoaib.
“In 2005 Mohali Test match, Danish (Kaneria) bowled and Shoaib Malik was at silly mid-on and Salman (Butt) was at silly mid-off. Danish missed the length. Sourav Ganguly was at strike and scored a boundary. Shoaib Malik said, ‘Dekha Kamran, kitna pressure hain Dada pe, chakke wala bowl chauka mara. (Did you see Kamran? Seems like Dada is under pressure. That ball should have been hit for a six instead of four)’ Ganguly stepped out of the crease to hit the next ball and he was stumped out. Before leaving he told Malik, ‘Tu bohut tez hai, tujhe me chhodunga nahi, tu bahar aa‘, (You’re acting very smart, You come out once, I won’t leave you)” Akmal said in a recent interaction in the Nadir Ali Podcast.
This very incident took place in the first innings of the match and Akmal didn’t remember the incident very clearly as Ganguly wasn’t stumped out but rather he was caught.
Akmal recently retired from all forms of the game after a career spanning over 20 years. The 41-year old last played for Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League. For the Men in Green, he played a total of 268 international matches and scored 6871 runs. He has 11 centuries and 27 half-centuries with a top score of 158 under his belt.
