Two years after his international debut which had the entire cricket world talking about his pace, Shoaib Akhtar travelled to Kolkata to make his debut appearance against the mighty Indian team. And the build-up was all about the battle between the two stars of the team - Sachin Tendulkar and Akhtar. But the Pakistan pacer was far from aware of what Sachin truly meant for the Indian fans.
In his interview with Sportskeeda, Akhtar recalled the famous 1999 Test in Kolkata and the small banter he had with senior team member Saqlain Mushtaq before the start of the game.
Akhtar recalled the entire Eden crowd chanting about the ‘God of Cricket’ and he asked Saqlain whom did they refer to with that name. And when made aware that Indian fans consider Sachin as the ‘God of Cricket’, Akhtar replied that he would want to dismiss him.
“There were 1 lakh people inside the stadium and almost as many waiting outside. I was speaking to Saqlain Mushtaq and I asked him who the crowds were referring to as the ‘God of Cricket’. So he told me that in India, Tendulkar is considered God. My instant reply was - what if I get him out? He reminded me that he had dismissed Tendulkar in the last two Tests. So, we got into a friendly banter over who would get Sachin out," he said.
{{/usCountry}}“There were 1 lakh people inside the stadium and almost as many waiting outside. I was speaking to Saqlain Mushtaq and I asked him who the crowds were referring to as the ‘God of Cricket’. So he told me that in India, Tendulkar is considered God. My instant reply was - what if I get him out? He reminded me that he had dismissed Tendulkar in the last two Tests. So, we got into a friendly banter over who would get Sachin out," he said.
{{/usCountry}}The former Pakistan cricketer then recalled how Eden had reacted when Sachin had made his way through to the middle after Rahul Dravid's dismissal.
“After Rahul Dravid got out, Sachin came in to bat. He was walking in very slowly and it seemed like his walk was just not ending. I went to my run-up, looked back and waited for him to arrive…” he said.
For Akhtar, he stayed true to his words as he dismissed Sachin for a golden duck, a dismissal that left the entire Eden crowd numb.
“Saqlain was very happy and told me - Shoaib, you have done it,” he recalled.