7 Interesting cricket anecdotes
Cricket gives joy on the field, but there have been numerous incidents and stories, both on and off-the-field too which provides an interesting perspective on the relationships and rivalries among players and nations. Some of these stories have been mentioned below.
(1) Sunil Gavaskar wanted to retire in 1986, but it was on Imran Khan's insistence that he postponed his retirement. Imran wanted to play against Sunil Gavaskar and relive the rivalry in 1987 Indo-Pak test series. Sunil retired after playing one of the best knocks of his life, scoring 96 at Bangalore.
(2) Shahid Afridi had to play an ODI against SriLanka in 1996. He did not have the bat since he was called at the last minute. That is when Waqar Younis stepped in and borrowed a bat from Sachin Tendulkar. Using that bat, Afridi scored the then fastest century in 37 balls with 11 sixes and 6 fours.
(3) India was playing an ODI tournament in Sharjah in 1987. A gangster then and an international criminal now, Dawood Ibrahim, walked into the dressing room and asked Kapil Dev that they would be gifted a car if they manage to win against Pakistan. Kapil, being a true Jatt, kicked him out of the dressing room by hurling some choicest expletives at him.
(4) Once Imran Khan met Allan Border in Sydney. In an informal chat, Imran told Allan Border "AB, give me Sunil Gavaskar and B.S. Chandra Shekhar from India, we will beat Australia". Allan Border retorted and said, “Imran, just give me two umpires from Pakistan and we will beat the whole world". This became a huge issue and only got resolved after Border tendered an apology.
(5) Imran Khan recounts one of his matches against Michael Holding when he was playing world series cricket "I walked into bat and as soon as I crossed the boundary line, I saw the wicket-keeper standing there. I felt amused and asked him why is he standing at the boundary line? The wicket-keeper retorted by saying that you will see when you face Michael and started laughing". Holding was bowling so fast that the wicket-keeper had to stand close to boundary line to catch the ball.
(6) Virender Sehwag was playing County cricket in England. In one of his matches, Jeremy Snape was getting troubled by the old ball's swing. He turned to Viru and told him the same. Next over, Viru hit a six and the ball got lost. A new ball was taken, after which Sehwag said to Snape, "The new ball won't swing for some time. We are safe for another two hours."
(7) During 1992 Mumbai riots, when entire Mumbai was burning, Sunil Gavaskar saved a Muslim family by daring the rioters and standing bravely to defend them. This shows his human side and ability to brave any difficult situation. Mark of a true sportsman!