File photo of Sourav Ganguly© Twitter
While the cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan has spawned much folklore, the tales of friendship between the two countries abound in the sporting landscape of the two countries as well. Cricketers from both countries have said how they received love from the other country. One such story was told by Pakistani head coach and former spinner Saqlain Mushtaq about the ex-India captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly.
“I had my reservations about Sourav Ganguly before I first spoke to him. There are people you don’t feel like talking or interacting with. He was without a doubt the captain of India and a legend. But when we met , it was always “hello”, “hi” and nothing more. I felt like he had a high opinion of himself,” he told SportsKeeda. “So I never spoke to him.”
“After my knee surgery in 2003-04, Ganguly was there on that tour and so was Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin had just had an elbow injury. I was playing a side game against India. It was my first game after rehab and I had to play county for Sussex while it was cricket season started,” Saqlain added.
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“Ganguly brought two cups of coffee. The roofs of the two dressing rooms were together. There was only a small wall between them. You could jump or come from behind. He jumped with two coffee cups in his hands and came towards me.” I was shocked and wondered what he was doing here. When he came, he offered me coffee. We talked for 30 minutes. I was ashamed of myself that I had thought he had a high opinion of himself. He led me and asked me about my knee.”
Mushtaq-coached Pakistan will face India in their first match of the 2022 T20 World Cup on October 23.
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