Cricket in south Asia, particularly in India and Pakistan, is as huge as football in Europe or South America, with millions of people devoutly following their teams. The India-Pakistan cricket rivalry could easily match a football duel between Argentina and Brazil. India vs Pakistan is always a big game, it’s like the final before the final.
Both nations rarely meet in cricket due to political differences. The Indian government cut off bilateral cricket ties with Pakistan after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which New Delhi claims were orchestrated by Pakistan-based militants. International Cricket was also banned for some years in Pakistan since Islamist militants attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009, injuring some players.
The contest between both teams is always a high-voltage game, whenever played. There are many instances that created tensions between the two groups during the match. Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram recalled a moment of the cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar’s unusual dismissal during the first Test match of the 1998/99 Asian Test Championship.
‘But I had my own fans to worry about’- Wasim Akram
Tendulkar was bowled for a duck in the first inning off a searing yorker by Shoaib Akhtar. In the second innings, Wasim Akram was bowling to Sachin, who clipped the ball toward deep mid-wicket. A fielder ran to collect the ball and darted it towards the bowler’s end. The shot was timed well, and there was an easy three in it, however, Tendulkar seemed to be focused on the ball and didn’t notice the Pakistani fielder who had run in to collect the ball, ended up in a collision with the fielder and got run-out unfortunately.
“During the break, I was approached by the match referee with Sunil Gavaskar. ‘Wasim, we think you should recall Sachin,’ said Sunny. People will love you in India. Sunny knew how partisan the Kolkata crowd could be – he had once refused to play a Test there because he had been so badly barracked the previous time,” says Wasim in an excerpt from his book.
“But I had my own fans to worry about. ‘Sunny bhai… they might love me in India but they’ll hate me in Pakistan,’ I said. ‘Anyway, it’s not my decision. The umpire has given him out. It’s too late for me to withdraw the appeal. The play has continued. We all know it’s an accident but cricket is full of accidents. It’s not up to the captains to rectify.”
