The former Pakistan player Kamran Akmal disclosed an incident which was his clash with Ishant Sharma during the 2012-13 India tour. In recent years, cricket matches between India and Pakistan have been limited to events like the Asia Cup and ICC tournaments due to political tensions.
The two teams haven’t engaged in a bilateral series since the 2012-13 tour of India by Pakistan for white-ball games. These matches have consistently brought intense and exciting contests. The last bilateral series was particularly notable not only for competitive play but also for a heated altercation between Kamran Akmal and Ishant Sharma.
The intense incident occurred during a T20I match in Bengaluru, adding more excitement to the unforgettable 2012 series. Making a significant disclosure, Akmal stated that the verbal clash was initiated by Ishant’s initial taunts, provoking a strong reaction from him.
“I could’ve been banned for two matches, penalized for 5 match fees” – Kamran Akmal
Providing additional insight, Akmal revealed that Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni were the ones to step in and calm the situation.
Akmal recounted the dispute in a podcast with Roha Nadym on Cricwick. “Ishant abused me. He said one bad word, in return he received 20. I’m honest here. We had our flight to Ahmedabad next day, there was a T20I match.”
”I, Virat (Kohli), Shoaib Malik, Hafeez were sitting. Somebody asked, what exactly happened between you two. Ishant said after bowling, I just said a bad word to him. Everybody said, you deserved it coming!” said Akmal. “It turned out to be serious. But thankfully, Dhoni, the captain cool, then Raina also interfered. They knew who was at fault, so they settled the situation, otherwise it would’ve been worse.”
“I could’ve been banned for two matches, penalized for 5 match fees. It was pretty serious,” said the former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter further.
Pakistan secured a 2-1 victory in the ODI series, while the two-game T20 series concluded level, resulting in a tie between the teams. This year, cricket enthusiasts can anticipate two intense India-Pakistan face-offs as they cross paths in the Asia Cup group stage and later in the ODI World Cup on October 14.
Depending on their performance in the group stages and Super Fours, the Asia Cup might feature up to three matches between India and Pakistan. The upcoming World Cup will mark the return of the Pakistan men’s team to India after their last visit in 2016 for the T20 World Cup, led by Shahid Afridi.
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