Former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly and former Pakistan specific pacer Shoaib Akhtar had been fierce rivals on the sphere whereas they’ve a great relationship off the sphere now. Over time, each distinguished gamers of the sport indulged in a number of fierce battles on the sphere however their introduction to one another may nonetheless be one of the crucial harmful moments within the left-handed batter’s profession.
To notice, Ganguly suffered a blow on his ribs and needed to be taken out of the sphere after he was hit by a pointy short-length supply bowled by Akhtar throughout an India vs Pakistan encounter in Mohali in 1999. In the meantime, the previous Pakistan pacer has now revealed {that a} group assembly had taken place earlier than the match the place Akhtar was clearly instructed to focus on the Indian batters with short-pitched deliveries and bowl at their physique.
‘You could have loads of tempo, simply attempt to hit the batters’ – Shoaib Akhtar remembers group technique
Chatting with Virender Sehwag on Star Sports activities’ ‘Frenemies’, Akhtar mentioned, “I used to be at all times making an attempt to focus on the pinnacle and ribs of a batsman. We had determined to focus on Ganguly on his ribs. Actually, it was determined in our assembly itself the place it was mentioned how I’ll attempt to hit batters. I requested, “Do I not dismiss them?’. They mentioned, ‘No. You could have loads of tempo. You simply attempt to hit the batters, we are going to handle getting them out.”
In reply, Sehwag mentioned, “I’m positive Ganguly will likely be listening to this interview.” Akhtar then instructed Sehwag that he had already talked about that to Ganguly earlier. “I had instructed Ganguly later that our plan was to focus on you within the ribs and never get you out,” he mentioned.
Regardless of being fierce rivals on the sphere, each Akhtar and Ganguly have been on good phrases. Akhtar additionally performed beneath Ganguly’s captaincy throughout the first version of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he was representing the two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). The previous Pakistan pacer has additionally praised Ganguly for his batting expertise and management qualities to take Indian cricket to new heights.
