Virender Sehwag, a former opener, famously spoke the words “Baap Baap Hota Hai, Beta Beta Hota Hai” to Pakistani cricket icon Shoaib Akhtar during one of the games. The line has been frequently used in relation to matchups between India and Pakistan ever since the former cricketer reported this occurrence.
When the comment was repeated by the anchor on a recent TV News debate, Akhtar didn’t take well to it. When asked about Sehwag’s remarks, the former cricketer became enraged. Unexpectedly, Akhtar refuted his claim that he doesn’t recall whether the former India cricketer said as much.
Akhtar admonished the anchor sternly to uphold the spirit of respect and talk about cricket.
Shoaib Akhtar expressed his rage by saying, “First thing, agar yeh cheez usne mere muh pe boli hoti toh woh bachta nahi. (If he had said this to my face then he wouldn’t have survived). I don’t know when and where he said this. I had even asked him once in Bangladesh whether he said this or not then he had denied it. Secondly, we should celebrate these occasions and talk about cricket rather than doing these. I respect India a lot, I respect you too and I never say such things which may create differences between the two countries.”
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This was not the first time Akhtar has refuted Sehwag’s assertion. He gave a similar response during an interview with Pakistan’s ARY News two years ago.
Akhtar also earlier said, “Would he survive after saying something like that to me? Would I leave him? I would beat him up on the ground and then at the hotel. The story has been made up.”
In the India vs Pakistan matchup in the 2022 Asia Cup, Rohit Sharma and company defeated their bitter rivals by a margin of five wickets. Pandya’s unbeaten 17-ball 33 helped India win with two balls remaining as they attempted to reach the challenging 148-run goal.
