Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi revealed an interesting story from his playing days about feeling sorry for Harbhajan Singh during a match between Pakistan and India.
Afridi, known for his explosive batting, disclosed that Harbhajan pleading eyes on him during a game in Kanpur, India, in April 2005 was the turning point for him.
Afridi said during an interview that he was batting on 96 in Kanpur, when he gently pushed the ball towards mid-on, resulting in a four which brought up his century.
The former captain expressed regret, saying that rather than attempting to defend the next ball of Harbhajan, he ought to have hit it for a six.
After scoring a century, he was cleaned bowled by Harbhajan, resulting in his crucial wicket for the team.
Shahid Afridi jokingly said that he should not have felt sorry for Harbhajan Singh, who had looked at him with ‘desperate’ eyes after the century.
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For the unversed, Afridi was named the Player of the Match for his wonderful century in the fifth ODI played between the arch-rivals. Following the match, Pakistan also took an unaccessible ODI series lead of 3-2 courtesy of Afridi’s great knock.
Earlier in June 2024, Harbhajan Singh opened up on how Shahid Afridi used to threaten the opposition with his batting including India
While discussing the impact and aggressive nature of Afridi’s batting, the former spinner said that the former Pakistan captain had that knack that could snatch the game from the opposition in a short period.
“It doesn’t matter how much time he spent on the wicket, but he added the duration of our team meeting. I can remember the 2007 World Cup match. If Shahid Afridi is still to bat, there would be fear in the opposition,” Singh said.
According to the Indian spin bowler, the explosive batter could change the course of the match even if he played only 15 balls due to his style of batting.
“He had the ability to take the game deep” concluded Harbhajan.
Singh also disclosed that the Indian team was concerned regarding Afridi’s major role during the final between Pakistan and India in T20 World Cup 2007.
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