Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar recently narrated a lesser-known story about himself and Sachin Tendulkar. Although they were fierce rivals on the field, many players of India and Pakistan were friends off the field. In one of the incidents shared by Akhtar today, he recalled how he once tried to lift Sachin, but he slipped from his hands.
In an interview with Sportskeeda, Shoaib Akhtar told the story of how he feared that he would never get the Indian visa again. The former Pakistan pacer said that he always wants to do something different. So once he tried to lift Sachin just for fun, but he could not grip him properly. Sachin slipped from his hands, and Shoaib was worried if he got injured.
Luckily, there was no injury. This incident happened when Pakistan came to India to play an ODI series in the year 2007. Tendulkar was one of the main players of the Indian cricket team back then. Thus had Akhtar injured him, it would have been a serious issue.
Tendulkar fell down, not that bad, but I thought to myself that ‘I am dead’: Shoaib Akhtar
Recalling that story in his most recent interview, Shoaib Akhtar said:
“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.”
Shoaib feared that that would have been his last trip to India because he felt the Indians would not allow him to enter their country again or they would even burn him alive. However, it did not happen, and Akhtar even worked as a Hindi commentator for Indian channels after retirement.
