“Nothing was said, simple gesture was misconstrued in many different ways” - Aamir Sohail on Venkatesh Prasad incident
Former Pakistan opener Aamir Sohail feels that the incident featuring Venkatesh Prasad during the 1996 World Cup quarter-final against India was needlessly blown out of proportion, leading to multiple interpretations of the controversy.
The Aamer Sohail-Prasad face-off has gained iconic status in the India-Pakistan rivalry. During the match, the Pakistan opener gestured to the Indian pacer after hitting a boundary, that he will punish him again. Prasad, however, had his own back next ball as he cleaned up the left-hander.
Looking back at the famous incident, Aamir Sohail pointed out that not a word was exchanged between him and Prasad. He explained that he was only trying to unsettle the bowler to see if Pakistan could get the upper hand.
In a YouTube interaction on Cricket Life Stories, Aamir Sohail stated:
“There was no argument. There was nothing said. People interpret it differently. They have to say something to prove that they understand the game well. There was no word exchanged. Javed Miandad told us how to rile up the bowler when you think that he is going to take charge. It was reverse psychology.
"Saeed (Anwar) and me were going great guns. He got out and we just got bogged down. And I thought India is taking charge. Just to unsettle the bowler (I tried provoking). There were so many other things - India had three spinners, and we knew the pitch was going to deteriorate and one over was deducted already. We were chasing 288 in 49 overs,” Aamir Sohail continued.
Aamir Sohail revealed that the team’s plan was to try and bring the run rate down to between five and four by the 20th over without losing more than two wickets.
The former Pakistan captain added:
“When I realized that the bowlers were settling in, I tried to provoke the bowler (Venkatesh Prasad) to move him away from his dangerous length. To break his focus, I pointed out something, and people thought so many things like I lost my temper, the bowler had some things to say. It was a good delivery he bowled. I was hoping that it would be a short-pitched delivery and I should be able to hit it out of the ground. It wasn’t the case. But the thing is, it was blown out of proportion. A simple gesture was misconstrued in so many different ways.”
Aamir Sohail’s dismissal proved to be the turning point
Chasing 288, Pakistan seemed to be in control at 113 for 1 in the 15th over. Aamir Sohail’s dismissal for 55 though swung the momentum of the match played in Bengaluru.
Prasad went on to dismiss Ijaz Ahmed (12) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (12) as well, as Pakistan began losing their way. Anil Kumble claimed three wickets too, as Pakistan were eventually held to 248 for 9, losing the match by 39 runs.
Navjot Sidhu (93) and Ajay Jadeja (45 off 25) starred for India with the bat as they posted 287 for 8 batting first.