Aamer Sohail recalls his verbal spat with Navjot Sidhu in 1996 India-Pakistan clash

The atmosphere is always heated in the middle whenever India and Pakistan face each other. The players used to have a go at each other in the 20th century. Aamer Sohail and Navjot Sidhu were involved in one such verbal spat during the 1996 clash between the arch-rivals in Sharjah. The latter had narrated the incident once in a comedy show. However, Sohail has claimed that nothing had the way Sidhu thinks.

The former Pakistan captain also recalled the time in 2005 when he had confronted the former Indian cricketer on a news channel and clarified his stance. He also added that he had offered Sidhu they can sit with Aaqib Javed, the other cricketer involved in the spat, and discuss the matter to clarify once and for all.

“In a comedy show, Navjot had talked about an anecdote. I had confronted him about it on a news channel in 2005 when we were talking. He again talked about that incident, and I told him that things had not happened the way he thinks. I also told him that Aaqib Javed is in town, and the three of us can sit together and have a discussion on it.

“Last time, when I was commentating during the Asia Cup, this incident was raised again, and I clarified it. But he quoted this anecdote in a different way, so I think, I need to give a clarification on it,” Aamer Sohail said while speaking on his Youtube channel.

Aamer Sohail explains the incident in detail

Aamer Sohail then explained the incident in detail stating that Navjot Sidhu was batting in the 90s when he came to him and warned about the bowler abusing him. However, Sohail then told him to ignore as it is the habit of the fast bowlers. But Sidhu was angry with the abuses and also reminded Sohail that the umpires would act strictly against the captain in that case.

But the 53-year-old went on to say that if the abusing had happened in the middle, the umpires would’ve penalised him and they didn’t which meant that nothing of that sort took place. “The incident took place when I was captaining Pakistan in 1996 in a match at Sharjah against India. Sidhu paaji was batting somewhere in the 90s.

“In the middle of an over, he came to me angrily and said ‘Aamir paaji, teach your fast bowler. He is doing this wrong’, so I asked him ‘paaji, what happened’. So, he said ‘he’s throwing abuses at me’. I told him ‘paaji, ignore him. He’s a fast-bowler, they have a habit of talking’. So he said, ‘no, no, say whatever you want but don’t give abuses’. So I said ‘okay paaji, I will tell him after the game, you go on and play’.

“If there were any sort of abuses that happened between players, then the umpires, who are really strict towards the captains to maintain the code of conduct, they would have penalised,” Aamer Sohail added further. As for that particular match, Sidhu went on to score 101 runs along with Sachin Tendulkar’s 118 as India posted 305 runs batting first. Pakistan, in response, were bowled out for 277 in the 47th over of the innings.