There has been significant chat hovering around the pitch on offer in Rawalpindi for the ongoing first Test between England and Pakistan. Batter on both sides have piled on the runs. England famously became the first team to score over 500 runs on the first day of the Test and posted a massive 657. Pakistan have replied by batting for two full days and ending Day 3 on 499/7. As many as seven batters on both sides have scored centuries while bowlers have often looked helpless.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja himself said that the pitch was ‘embarrassing’. Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah recently fielded a rather peculiar question on the topic that was clearly intended to be light-hearted. Naseem also took it in the spirit but the air in the press conference room became quite tense after that.
The journalist was asking a question based on Australia pace great Dennis Lillee's joke about a poor pitch he had played on in Faisalabad. “There was a wicket like this a long time back in Faisalabad and Dennis Lillee had said that he would like to be cremated on a pitch like this when he dies. Do you think it was a wicket like that?” the journalist asked. Naseem smiled and replied: “Sir ab aap mujhe maarne ke chakkar me hain (You are getting into conversations around me dying)”
{{/usCountry}}The journalist was asking a question based on Australia pace great Dennis Lillee's joke about a poor pitch he had played on in Faisalabad. “There was a wicket like this a long time back in Faisalabad and Dennis Lillee had said that he would like to be cremated on a pitch like this when he dies. Do you think it was a wicket like that?” the journalist asked. Naseem smiled and replied: “Sir ab aap mujhe maarne ke chakkar me hain (You are getting into conversations around me dying)”
{{/usCountry}}The journalist then seemed to be irked by what the moderator of the press conference said after Naseem's quip. "Meri topi, ye salwaar kameez dekh ke ye na soche ki mai naya aya hu. Ye saare bacche hai mere saamne. (Don't look at my clothes and think that I am new here. They are all kids in front of me)," he said.
"Mujhe sawaal puchne de na, ye kya tareeka hai. Aap mujhe batayenge tareeka. Aap paida nai hue the tab se mai sports journalism karra hu. Tareeka aap batayenge mujhe? (Let me ask the question, what kind of behaviour is this. Will you teach me how to talk? You weren't even born when I started out in sports journalism. You will teach me how to talk?)" Naseem ended up playing the role of peacemaker, telling the moderator to let the journalist ask his question and then apologised to the latter as well.