"When you have 400+ Test wickets..." - Harbhajan Singh in Twitter banter with Shoaib Akhtar
Harbhajan Singh and Shoaib Akhtar have had plenty of heated moments on the field as the rivalry between India and Pakistan has often sparked tension between players over the years.
The former India spinner and the Ex-Pakistan pacer -- both icons in their own right -- are part of a panel of analysts for the 2021 T20 World Cup, and it did not take them long to get into some banter on social media.
"With Mr. I know it all @harbhajan_singh in Dubai for a pre discussion about the mother of all competitions," Akhtar had tweeted on Sunday.
With Mr. I know it all @harbhajan_singh in Dubai for a pre discussion about the mother of all competitions.
#Dubai #Pakistan #India #worldcup https://t.co/40VS5vEMqB
Harbhajan, never one to back down, came up with a stinging retort.
"When u have 400 plus test wickets am sure you know more about cricket then someone with less then 200 wickets (sic)," the spinner tweeted.
When u have 400 plus test wickets am sure you know more about cricket then someone with less then 200 wickets š¤ š¤¦š»āāļø twitter.com/shoaib100mph/sā¦
Harbhajan Singh finished his Test career with 417 wickets in 103 matches, while Shoaib Akhtar claimed 178 wickets in 46 Tests.
India are unbeaten against Pakistan in T20 World Cup history
The exchange of words between Harbhajan Singh and Shoaib Akhtar came with India set to face Pakistan in the Super 12s stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup.
The arch-rivals are set to face off next Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium in the first of their Super 12 matches.
India are unbeaten against Pakistan in the T20 World Cup. They first faced each other in the T20 World Cup in their very first match of the inaugural edition, before locking horns again in the final of the same tournament. India won their group stage encounter after a 'bowl-out' and then also won the final by five runs.
Harbhajan Singh was part of India's triumphant squad in 2007.
This year, India and Pakistan have been grouped with Afghanistan and New Zealand, and the four teams will be joined by two more from the group stages, which began on Sunday.