Navjot Singh Sidhu hitting me with the bat in Sharjah ODI rumours 'false': Aamer Sohail

There is nothing quite like India and Pakistan locking horns with each other on a cricket field. The rivalry between the two nations is considered as one of the biggest sporting rivalries in the world. When the two nations meet on the field, tensions are soaring high. Over the years, there have been some intense skirmishes between Indian batsmen and Pakistani bowlers. 

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Aamer Sohail opens up on the 1996 Navjot Singh Sidhu-Waqar Younis controversy

One such verbal spat took place between cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu and Aamer Sohail during the 1996 Pepsi Cup clash between the arch-rivals in Sharjah. There were numerous reports that claimed Navjot Singh Sidhu had threatened to beat Sohail with his bat after losing his temper. However, as often seen, there is more than one side to the same story.

Recently, Aamer Sohail opened up on the incident as he recalled the controversial episode and shed some light on what actually transpired. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Aamer Sohail said that the incident took place when he was captaining Pakistan in 1996 and Navjot Singh Sidhu was batting somewhere in the 90s.

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Sohail further said that in the middle of an over, Navjot Singh Sidhu came to him angrily and said to him to teach Waqar Younis a lesson. Sohail asked Navjot Singh Sidhu what had happened. The former Indian cricketer replied saying that Waqar Younis was hurling abuses at him constantly every over. Aamer Sohail asked Navjot Singh Sidhu to ignore him and added that fast bowlers have a habit of talking. 

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However, the famously temperamental Navjot Singh Sidhu was angry with the abuses and also reminded Sohail that the umpires would act strictly against the captain in that case. But the 53-year-old went on to say that if the abusing had happened in the middle, the umpires would’ve penalised him and they didn’t which meant that nothing of that sort took place. Sohail further said this is the truth and added that's all that happened and he doesn’t know where the 'Navjot Singh Sidhu hitting players with his bat' rumours came from.

However, Aamer Sohail's version could be debatable as he himself was known to rile up opponents, having rudely gestured at former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad after smashing him for boundaries during the 1996 World Cup quarter-final between India and Pakistan in Bengaluru. Prasad had his revenge the very next delivery by getting him clean bowled famously and wild celebrations followed. In addition to that, Waqar Younis had a reputation of sledging and irking batsmen when hit for too many runs.

Navjot Singh Sidhu went on to score 101 runs along with Sachin Tendulkar’s 118 as India posted 305 runs batting first. Pakistan, in response, were bowled out for 277 in the 47th over of the innings. India won the match by 28 runs and registered a memorable victory.

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IMAGE COURTESY: PTI