The legendary Wasim Akram has narrated a hilarious sledging incident that took place between players of the Australian cricket team and a ‘Pakistan great’. The incident occurred during the 1996 Carlton and United tri-series in Australia also featuring West Indies. Akram, who was captain of the team, revealed how the likes of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne began mouthing words to the batter, but the player, whose identity Wasim did not reveal and his reaction floored him.
“One time, our great batsman was batting in Sydney. He was batting on 100 and I was batting with him. So, then I saw Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne were abusing him in that Australian accent. I can’t say it on live TV. I told my partner ‘Listen, you know what they are saying, right?’ He said ‘Paaji, I can’t understand a thing they’re saying’. Later, I told the Australians, guys, if you are going to abuse anyone, make sure you do in a language that the person understands,” Akram said on ‘To Be Honest’ show on YouTube on the channel ‘Nashpati Prime’.
Akram played in an era where the competition between bowlers and batters was pretty stiff. He bowled to some of the greatest batters of all time – Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Aravinda de Silva, Mark Waugh and others and looking back at his battles, Akram has cherished his time playing cricket for Pakistan. Akram, who picked up over 900 international wickets during his career, stated that he enjoyed his battles with some of the all-time greats, and although there was occasions when the opposition got on top of him, the Pakistan great never believed he could not get them out.
“As a fast bowler, I was always very confident. I have been smashed too, by Viv Richards, Adam Gilchrist, Sachin Tendulkar on his day, Brian Lara on his day, Ricky Ponting… but I never backed down. I played a pretty top quality of cricket throughout,” added Akram.