Former Pakistan pacer Naved-ul-Hasan recently recalled an incident from the 2005 ODI series against India, where he dismissed Virender Sehwag after sledging him. Naved-ul-Hasan, who played for Pakistan in all three formats, shared the story during an interview on the Nadir Ali Podcast.
During the series, Pakistan was trailing 2-0, and Naved-ul-Hasan asked captain Inzamam-ul-Haq for the ball when Sehwag was batting well, and India was on the verge of scoring 300 runs. Naved-ul-Hasan bowled a slow bouncer to Sehwag and exchanged a few words with him. He told Sehwag, “You don’t know how to play. Had you been in Pakistan, I don’t think you would have ever made it to the international team.”
“There was a match where Sehwag was playing well. I was the player of the tournament. The series was such that we were trailing 2-0. It was a best-five [six] series. In one of the games, Sehwag was hitting big. They almost scored 300. I asked Inzy bhai to give me the ball. I bowled a slow bouncer,” Naved-ul-Hasan said.
“I went up to him and said ‘You don’t know how to play. Had you been in Pakistan, I don’t think you would have ever made it to the international team. He said a few things back to me”, Naved-ul-Hasan added.
Sehwag responded to Naved-ul-Hasan’s sledging, but Naved-ul-Hasan managed to dismiss him on the next ball. He had told captain Inzamam-ul-Haq beforehand that Sehwag would be out on the next ball. True to his prediction, Naved-ul-Hasan bowled a back-of-the-hand slower ball, and an agitated Sehwag attempted to hit it big but got caught. The wicket was crucial, and Pakistan went on to win the match.
“On my way back I told Inzi bhai… ‘Next ball, he is getting out’. He was surprised. I bowled a back-of-the-hand slower ball, and an infuriated Sehwag tried to hit it big but holed out. The wicket was so important that we won that match. These are certain tricks of the fast bowler. Sehwag was the easiest to dismiss and the most difficult to bowl at was Rahul Dravid,” the former right-arm pacer concluded.
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Naved-ul-Hasan mentioned that such tricks are part of a fast bowler’s arsenal, and he found Sehwag relatively easier to dismiss than other batters. He also mentioned that Rahul Dravid was one of the most difficult batsmen to bowl to.
The incident Naved-ul-Hasan shared occurred during India vs Pakistan ODI series in 2005, which was held in India. After losing the first two matches, Pakistan made a comeback and won the series 4-2. Naved-ul-Hasan’s performance throughout the series was outstanding, as he took 15 wickets in six matches and was awarded the Man of the Series title.
