When Shoaib Akhtar Was Warned By Sourav Ganguly: ‘Come To Mid-wicket, These People Will Kill You’

When Akhtar Was Warned By Ganguly: 'Come To Mid-wicket, These People Will Kill You'

Sachin Tendulkar vs Shoaib Akhtar, IPL 2008: Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar recalled a hilarious incident involving him, his then captain for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Sourav Ganguly in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the little master Sachin Tendulkar.

After getting bundled out for a paltry score of 67 against Mumbai Indians in an IPL match in 2008, Akhtar got rid of Tendulkar in the very first over – an incident that did not go down too well with the massive crowd that had come to witness a Tendulkar masterclass.

“We had scored really less. When the match began, the atmosphere was electric. It was Sachin’s city, Mumbai. It was Sachin Tendulkar vs Shoaib Akhtar and we at KKR had Shahrukh Khan in the stadium as well. The stadium and entire Mumbai was packed. Ahead of the match, we were having friendly chat and both Sachin and I greeted each other,” Akhtar told SportsKeeda while recalling the match.

“It was a beautiful ground and a fantastic atmosphere. Stadium was fully packed. But I dismissed Sachin Tendulkar in the first over itself and that was a huge mistake. Then I got a lot of abuses when I was at fine leg. Sourav Ganguly told me, ‘Come to mid-wicket, these people will kill you. Who told you to dismiss Sachin? That too in Mumbai?’,” Akhtar added.

Talking about the people of Mumbai, Akhtar said that he was very happy playing at Wankhede because no one abused his country (Pakistan), not did they pass any racist comment, adding that the crowd at Wankhede were always passionate and wished he played more games there.

“I worked a lot in Mumbai and got lots of love. I was happy because at Wankhede no one abused my country, no one passed any racist comments. The crowd at Wankhede was very passionate. I wish I played more games there,” mentioned Akhtar.