'He said one bad word and received 20' - Former Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal recalls his verbal spat with India star cricketer

Star Pakistani player Kamran Akmal has been known for his on-field verbal spats with opposition players. His argument with Indian pacer Ishant Sharma was one of the most intense on-field fights in cricket history. During Pakistan's tour to India in 2012, both Akmal and Ishant found themselves in a huge verbal spat.

Both were captured by the camera having high-voltage drama on the field. Now, almost a decade later, Akmal recalled the incident and revealed what had happened there. Speaking on a podcast with Roha Nadym for Cricwick, he said that Ishant started the fight by abusing him. He said, "Ishant abused me. He said one bad word; in return, he received 20. I'm honest here."

To clarify his words, Akmal said that players like Virat Kohli and Shoaib Malik also supported him. He said, "We had our flight to Ahmedabad the next day; there was a T20I match. I, Virat (Kohli), Shoaib Malik, and Hafeez were sitting. Somebody asked what exactly happened between you two. Ishant said after bowling that I just said a bad word to him. Everybody said You deserved it coming!"

"I could've been banned", says Kamran Akmal

Further speaking about the possible consequences if the fight had gone long, Akmal said that he might have been banned. He said that former India skipper MS Dhoni calmed things down, as it would have been worse. "It turned out to be serious. But thankfully, Dhoni, the captain, and Raina also interfered. They knew who was at fault, so they settled the situation; otherwise, it would've been worse. I could've been banned for two matches and penalised for five-match fees. It was pretty serious", Akmal said.

It's worth noting that Pakistan's tour of India was the last bilateral series between the two nations. Due to rising political issues between them, India and Pakistan play each other only in the Asia Cup and World Cup. Both arch-rivals will face each other in the upcoming Asia Cup on September 2 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele.