New Delhi: There is no doubt about the fact that the India-Pakistan cricket rivalry is the most talked about and most anticipated sports rivalry in the world. One such episode is from the 2017 Champions Trophy when former India opener Virender Sehwag and ex-Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif engaged in a war of words that caught everyone’s attention.
After India hammered Pakistan by 124 runs in their first group match of the Champions Trophy at Edgbaston, Sehwag had taken to X, erstwhile Twitter, to congratulate the Virat Kohli-led side on the big win, saying “Pote ke baad Bete. Koi baat nahi Beta, Well tried! Congratulations Bharat !#BaapBaapHotaHai #INDvPAK”.
But it didn’t go down too well with Rashid, who reacted to Sehwag’s post via a Facebook video in which he said, “Sehwag has taken a jab at us, and if he had said something to me personally or to someone specific, I might not have responded. You all need to turn the pages of history. We handed all the grand monuments built by our ancestors to India as charity, be it Ajmer Sharif or Nizamuddin Sharif or Taj Mahal. I have a bigger family in India than you do.”
When asked about his then viral social media confrontation with Sehwag, Rashid said such things happened in the heat of the moment, and should not be related to the present.
“If I talk about a player a year ago, it cannot be related today. I had made a comment about Virender Sehwag regarding the 2017 Champions Trophy. There are always some comments that directly hit the country, so a reaction was bound to happen,” the former Pakistani cricketer told IANS.
“When Pakistan won, I told him that this is not the kind of cricket that should happen, but there was no comment from his side. It was a positive sign. He talks well. Sometimes things happen in the heat of the moment, but that was back in 2017; Raat gayi, baat gayi (what’s done is done),” he concluded.
However, India lost to Pakistan in the final by 180 runs at The Oval to miss out on their second ICC Champions Trophy title.
–IANS