Harbahajan Singh reveals about Shoaib Akhtar requesting for tickets of 2011 World Cup semi-final

Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh on Sunday revealed that former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar had sought tickets from him for both the semi-final and final of the 2011 World Cup for his visiting family members. While India defeated Pakistan by 29 runs in the semi-final in which Akhtar hadn’t played despite featuring in that World Cup, they went on to lift the trophy by beating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in the final in Mumbai.

Harbhajan, who was a member of the Cup-winning Indian squad, played a vital role with the ball in the semi-final on his home ground Mohali. He produced a beauty that had castled the dangerous-looking Umar Akmal to peg the Pakistani chase back and ended up with 2 for 43 in 10 overs. He said Akhtar, who had played his last international match in that tournament, had requested tickets from him for the Mohali clash as well as the final.

“In 2011, I met Shoaib before the match and Shoaib Akhtar’s family had come and he asked me tickets for the semi-final. So I gave him 4 tickets. He didn’t play the semi-final,” Harbhajan Singh was quoted as saying by India Today at a star-studded programme in England where the cricket World Cup is currently being played.

“Then he asked me for the final tickets too. I said ‘what will you do with this?’ India will win and if you want to come and watch I will give you 2-4 tickets’.”

India will win over Pakistan on June 16, feels Harbhajan

Harbhajan on the occasion also expressed confidence over India winning the upcoming clash with Pakistan in the World Cup to be played at Old Trafford on June 16. India has thumped their arch-rivals in all six games they have played till now starting in 1992. He even said that India’s rivalry with Pakistan is less intense than England but the battle between the Asian powerhouses gets more hype from the media.

“India vs Pakistan is not as big as India vs England. Maybe from the media perspective, India vs Pakistan is more hyped up. But from a cricketing aspect, India vs England is more important. India can beat this Pakistan team 9 and a half times out of 10 times,” he said.