Former India wicketkeeper Kiran More has revealed that sledging was rife during India-Pakistan games and how Salim Malik, the ex-Pakistan batsman, went after him for a wicked word More had addressed him with. The incident took place during India’s tour of Pakistan in 1989 and although tempers flared often between players of both countries, More said the sledging episodes between India and Pakistan were hilarious.
“Whenever an India-Pakistan series takes place, sledging happens. In Pakistan when we went in 1989, I sledged Salim Malik in the Karachi Test and he came to hit me with the bat. I said to him a very nasty word in Punjabi because we speak the common language. Actually, it’s so much fun and I wish that there were microphones all around the ground because it will be hilarious for everyone,” More said on The Greatest Rivalry podcast.
“Javed was playing his 100th Test match at Lahore. He came out to bat and Maninder Singh was bowling. Third or fourth over he was plumb leg before. It was a beautiful arm ball from Maninder and the ball rapped him below the knee roll. He said to me ‘why are you appealing. This is my 100th Test match, I am going to score a century and go home’”
It wasn’t More’s only exchange with Miandad. How can an India-Pakistan cricket mention go without the Miandad-More incident? The 1992 World Cup match comprises one of the most talked-about moments in the history of India-Pakistan cricket when an irate Miandad, frustrated with More’s excessive appealing, aped the India wicketkeeper.
{{/usCountry}}It wasn’t More’s only exchange with Miandad. How can an India-Pakistan cricket mention go without the Miandad-More incident? The 1992 World Cup match comprises one of the most talked-about moments in the history of India-Pakistan cricket when an irate Miandad, frustrated with More’s excessive appealing, aped the India wicketkeeper.
{{/usCountry}}“We batted and got to 218 (216) but we thought that we were about 20-30 runs short. When we batted, we faced a lot of hostility from the Pakistan team on the field, they were saying a lot of things to us. So it was time for us to give it back. And I was the number one guy in the team, one who was given the license to go after them by the team management,” More said.
“So from the first ball, I started going after them. When Javed came in to bat, Aamer Sohail was batting along with him and they were doing pretty well actually, they had the game in hand. But I thought Javed was over-cautious, he stopped Aamer Sohail from getting into the flow and play big shots and that pressure was building up all the time.”
More insisted he only appealed because he genuinely felt there was a leg before shout. With Miandad struggling with a bad back, More opportunity it was the right time and opportunity to get under the batsman’s skin.
“We batted and got to 218 (216) but we thought that we were about 20-30 runs short. When we batted, we faced a lot of hostility from the Pakistan team on the field, they were saying a lot of things to us. So it was time for us to give it back. And I was the number one guy in the team, one who was given the license to go after them by the team management,” More said.
“So from the first ball, I started going after them. When Javed came in to bat, Aamer Sohail was batting along with him and they were doing pretty well actually, they had the game in hand. But I thought Javed was over-cautious, he stopped Aamer Sohail from getting into the flow and play big shots and that pressure was building up all the time.”