Flashback - When Virender Sehwag shut Shoaib Akhtar with his bat and words

Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag has smashed some of the best bowlers in his 14-year long illustrious career for his country. In all the formats, he bossed the bowlers whenever he was at the crease and used to fluster their lines and lengths. He was usually a calm cricketer but if someone tried to get under his skins then he used to answer them both with the bat and his words. However, one such incident happened between him and the Rawalpindi Express, Shoaib Akhtar.

An encounter between India and Pakistan is always filled with emotions as alike their fans, players also get into it. There are so many instances when the players from both the teams have fought with each other. Gautam Gambhir and Kamran Akmal were almost involved in a physical altercation on the field in one of the matches. Players have also been involved in the war of words to distract each other from the game in order to earn a boundary or get a wicket.

Viru derailed Rawalpindi express

Virender Sehwag was involved in the war of words once with one of the fastest bowlers in World cricket, Shoaib Akhtar. The latter was out of tricks when the Nawab of Najafgarh was hitting him to all the corners of the stadium. Naturally, Akhtar was fumed and tried to distract him by saying something to him while bowling. Soon he started bowling bouncers to the batsman which Sehwag used to calmly leave. But then he tried to instigate him by saying, “Play the hook shot’, after bowling every ball.

The ever calm Sehwag, in between his whistling and singing while playing some amazing shots eventually got a tad frustrated but gave a fitting reply to Shoaib’s persistent provocations. He burst at him by saying, “Are you bowling or begging?” The bowler didn’t stop there and dared him to play the hook shot. “Play the hook, if you dare,” Shoaib dared Sehwag. Sehwag finally shut him up by saying, “Look at the non-striker end, there’s your daddy. Ask him to play the hook shot, if you dare.” Sachin Tendulkar, who is referred to as God of cricket, was standing at the other end.

Eventually, Akhtar bowled the bouncer when Sachin came on strike and the master dismissed it in the crowd brutally by playing the hook shot. Sehwag didn’t miss out on a chance to add the salt to the wounds of the bowler. He went to Akhtar and said, “A son will always be a son, and the daddy will always be the daddy.” This is one of the famous incidents which was recalled by the man himself at some function in which Pakistani cricketers were also present.