'If Sachin got injured, I'd never get Indian visa': Shoaib Akhtar recalls when a prank went wrong during 2007 India tour
The players of India and Pakistan cricket teams gathered at an awards function in which Shoaib Akhtar tried to lift Sachin Tendulkar for fun. However, the master slipped from his grip and fell down.
In cricket, there is perhaps no greater rivalry than between India and Pakistan. When the two neighbouring nations compete together in a cricket match, it is nothing more than a spectacle. While these contests have become a rare occurrence now, happening only during ICC events - there was a time when both the countries used to visit the other nation for a tour.
Several former Pakistan cricketers have admitted that they had a really great time while touring India and legendary speedster Shoaib Akhtar is one of them.
During a recent interaction with Sportskeeda, Akhtar recalled an anecdote from their 2007 tour. The players of India and Pakistan cricket teams gathered at an awards function in which he tried to lift Sachin Tendulkar for fun. However, the master slipped from his grip and fell down.
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What happened thereafter, the Rawalpindi Express narrates:
"After Pakistan, if there is one country where I have received a lot of love, it is India. I have a lot of good memories from my visits to India. During the 2007 tour, there was an awards function. So obviously, there was a get-together after the function. As usual, I wanted to do something different. So, I tried to lift Sachin Tendulkar, just for fun. I managed to lift him but then he slipped from my hands. Tendulkar fell down, not that bad, but I thought to myself that 'I am dead'. I feared that if Sachin Tendulkar gets unfit or injured, I would never get an Indian Visa. The Indians would never allow me to come back to the country or would burn me alive."
Akhtar further stated that Tendulkar was all right after falling down and later, the Indian batting legend hammered Pakistan in the bilateral series.
"When he fell down, I really thought I am done for life. I remember Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh were also there and they were telling me, 'What are you doing man?' And I responded by saying 'I don't really know, it just happened.' So, then I went and hugged Tendulkar and asked him if he was okay. Thankfully, he said he was fine.
"Then I told him if anything would have happened, it could have caused big trouble to me, especially with the media and all the fans in India. Tendulkar later hammered us in the series. At that point, I wished he was unfit," Akhtar added.
