Sourav Ganguly and Shoaib Akhtar developed a friendship off the field over time. The two men shared a dressing room with the Kolkata Knight Riders during the first season of the IPL, and the Pakistani legend has consistently praised the former India captain for his batting prowess and leadership abilities.
But the moment when they first met is still among Ganguly’s most perilous in his professional life. Of course, die-hard supporters would remember that deadly delivery from the 1999 ODI match at Mohali. Years later, Akhtar describes an odd Pakistani team meeting that took place before Ganguly was struck by a short-pitched delivery from the bowler, which caused a deadly rib injury.
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On Star Sports’ “Frenemies,” which was shown on their YouTube channel, Akhtar spoke with India star Virender Sehwag. He said that during a team meeting prior to a match against India, he was expressly instructed to target the batters and not to dismiss them. He continued by saying that Ganguly was one of the hitters and that he had been assigned to hit Ganguly in the ribs.
In fact, it was decided in our meeting where it was discussed how I will try to hit batters. I asked, “Do I not dismiss them?’ and they said, “No. You have a lot of pace. You just try to hot the batters, and we will take care of getting them out,” he said. “I was always trying to target the head and and rubs of a batsman. We had decided to target Ganguly on his ribs.
“I’m sure Ganguly will be listening to this interview”, Sehwag retorted. Akhtar informed him that he later told Ganguly about this. We were going to go for you in the ribs and not get you out, I had told Ganguly later.
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In the 1999 match, Ganguly was struck with a fatal short-pitched ball from Akhtar, which resulted in his removal from the field. However, the Indian hero recovered from his injuries to score an incredible 100 runs in Adelaide against a Pakistani assault that included Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar.
