India vs Pakistan cricket contests are rare these days. In the 90s, India used to play Pakistan quite often and they used to be high intensity matches. The tension ran high and many harsh words were exchanged between the players of the two teams. The history of these two countries is such that it was difficult to control the emotions. Fans across the border are aware of the Gautam Gambhir vs Shahid Afridi brawl, the Shoaib Akhtar vs Harbhajan Singh brawl and of course the Rawalpindi Express taunt on Virender Sehwag, who also knew that there were some really good one- How to return them with liners. Not to forget the epic Javed Miandad vs Kiran More incident in the 1992 World Cup.
Former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has now revealed a new story in which India legend Sachin Tendulkar is involved. Mushtaq recently said in a podcast that once he had said some harsh words to Sachin, who was deeply hurt by this act. But Sachin’s ‘good’ words impressed India’s batsmen far more than Saqlain’s harsh words.
#this day In 1999, an epic trial began in Chennai.
Sachin Tendulkar’s brilliant 136 brought __ closer to victory. But Saqlain Mushtaq had the last laugh when he dismissed Tendulkar and batted at the tail end to seal a 12-run win for __! pic.twitter.com/LM3w9P36yr
– ICC (@ICC) January 31, 2020
“I once had an incident with Sachin. We went to Canada. I came there after playing county cricket in England. I was a young boy at that time and I was in my own world of bowling. So after playing county I got a little cocky.” .Sachin was a very intelligent cricketer. I threw him too tight at first and sledged him. I used some harsh words. He came to me and said very nicely “Saki… I never thought you would do this. And you don’t even seem like the kind of person who would say such words. I thought you were a very decent person. He So well said and believe me that for the next 4 overs, his words impressed me. I was so consumed with what he said to me that before I could understand anything, he was done with his work. Work. He Got set while batting,” Saqlain said on the Nadir Ali Podcast.
Saqlain further said that Tendulkar had applied reverse psychology on him by talking softly to him. The Pakistani spinner kept thinking about the ‘goodness’ of Tendulkar’s words and took his focus and attention away from cricket. Due to this, Tendulkar hit him for boundaries every time. Saqlain said his limitations then felt like a slap in his face. The 46-year-old said that Tendulkar used a different strategy to influence him mentally and it did wonders for the Indian batting star.