'You Don't Know How To Play': Former Pakistani Bowler Recalls Sledging Indian Player Amid Ind vs Pak Clash
Virender Sehwag (Twitter)
Virender Sehwag was a major thorn in Pakistan's side even before Virat Kohli emerged as a dominant force. Sehwag had remarkable performances against Pakistan, with impressive records in both Test and ODI matches. His statistics speak for themselves, with 1276 runs from 9 Tests at an astonishing average of 91.14, including four centuries. He also excelled in ODIs, amassing 1071 runs from 31 matches, featuring two centuries and six fifties.
Sehwag's prime performances against Pakistan during the 2005 series stand out, where he scored a massive 544 runs in three Test matches, although the series ended in a 1-1 draw. In the ODIs, Pakistan emerged victorious, winning the series 4-2 despite Sehwag's contributions of 239 runs. Despite the results, Sehwag's performances against Pakistan were consistently outstanding, regardless of the pitch, bowlers, countries, or venues.
In an interesting revelation, a former Pakistani fast bowler who played in that series, Naved-Ul-Hasan, recalled an incident where he managed to provoke Sehwag with his sledging.
"We were playing a match against India. Sehwag was batting on 85. It was the same series in which Shahid Afridi scored a century. We were trailing 0-2; India had already won the first two games in the best of five ODIs. In the third game, Sehwag was hammering us. India had scored close to some 300 runs and Sehwag had smashed Afridi for a few sixes. Everyone was getting a beating from him. So I want up to Inzamam to ask for an over. He said 'Sure… everybody is getting hit, you give it a try if you want'," he said on the Nadir Ali podcast.
He also added:
"The first ball which I bowled was a slower bouncer which Sehwag missed connecting. I went up to him and said 'You don't know how to play. I can't even… Had you been in Pakistan, I don't think you would have ever made it to the international team. He said a few things back to me but I was able to needle him. On my way back I told Inzi bhai… 'Next ball, he is getting out'. I bowled a back of the hand slower ball, and an infuriated Sehwag tried to hit it big but holed out. The wicket was so important that we won that match."
However, it is worth mentioning that Naved slightly altered his account of events. In contrast to his statement, Pakistan actually lost that match to India by 58 runs. It was a significant match where MS Dhoni made a name for himself with a brilliant innings of 148 runs in Visakhapatnam.
According to Naved's recollection, he did manage to dismiss Sehwag for 74 runs, caught by Salman Butt, and ended the match with figures of 3/54. However, it is important to clarify that his individual performance did not contribute to a victory for Pakistan. Naved's outstanding performance throughout the series, where he took 15 wickets, earned him the Player of the Series award.
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