As the cricket activities around the world have come to a halt because of the Coronavirus pandemic, cricketers around the world have been spending most of their time on social media. From interacting with their fans to going live on social media, cricketers are keeping their fans entertained with their social media activities.
Amidst these Corona times, many legendary cricketers revealed a lot of things about their cricketing careers. Besides these, these legendary cricketers also spilled the beans related to many memorable matches.
Here, we bring you 5 secrets of memorable matches revealed by legendary Indian cricketers during the lockdown. Have a look:
1. Why was MS Dhoni promoted ahead of Yuvraj Singh in the 2011 World Cup:
We all know how Dhoni’s 91* innings helped team India win the World Cup. Recently, in an interview, Sachin Tendulkar revealed that the idea to send MS Dhoni ahead of Yuvraj Singh actually came from his mind. Sachin then asked Sehwag to convey his message to MS Dhoni. Sachin revealed:
“Gautam (Gambhir) was batting brilliantly and someone like Dhoni could’ve kept rotating the strike. So I told Viru, ‘tu overs ke beech mein sirf ye baat bahar jaake MS ko bol aur next over shuru hone se pehle waapis aaja. Main yahan se nahi hilne wala (Just go out into the balcony between the overs only to say this much to MS and come back fast before the next over begins. I’m not moving from here).”
He added:
“I asked MS to consider this strategy,” added Sachin. “He then went to (coach) Gary (Kirsten), who was sitting outside. Then Gary came in and all four of us got talking about it. Gary too agreed it was the right thing to do, given the attack on hand. MS also agreed and promoted himself up the order.”
2. Why Virender Sehwag wasn’t allowed a toilet-break during the 2011 World Cup final?
Well, not many are aware f the fact that Virender Sehwag wasn’t allowed a toilet break during the 2011 World Cup Final. Sehwag didn’t move an inch until Dhoni smashed a winning sixer.
The reason behind this was once again Sachin Tendulkar, who didn’t allow Virender Sehwag to move from his seat until Sachin gives him permission. Though this wasn’t related to the game in any way but Virender Sehwag followed it anyway and didn’t move from his seat throughout the chase.
3. Mohammad Kaif’s ‘Hum bhi khelne aye hai’ during Natwest 2002 Final:
After team India lost half of their side during the NatWest final, the onus came on the young shoulders of Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh. As the required rate was increasing, team India’s skipper Sourav Ganguly screamed from the balcony to direct Mohammad Kaif to bring Yuvraj Singh on strike.
However, motivated by this, Mohammad Kaif smashed a big six and walked upto Yuvraj Singh and said “Hum bhi khelne aaye hai”. After that six, Mohammad Kaif didn’t give any instructions from the balcony.
4. When the ‘Master Blaster’ lost his cool:
The pressure of chasing down 285 runs and the heat of Sharjah, in a match against the Australian cricket team for a place during CocaCola finals even got to the ‘master-blaster. Recently, Sachin revealed that e had ended up shouting at his batting partner VVS Laxman. However, Sachin was scolded by his elder brother Ajit for his behavior.
5. Sachin vs McGrath:
During the Adelaide Test in the year 1999, coming to bat first, the Australian cricket team piled up a massive 441 runs. Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh, both the cricketers made Indian bowlers toil hard for their wicket.
In response, team India lost 2 quick wickets in a span of just 4 overs and once again Sachin Tendulkar came to India’s rescue. During the game, McGrath planned to dry out Sachin and only bowled outside off. However, between overs, Sachin told McGrath that he wasn’t going to play a flashy shot. Later, on the next day, Sachin returned back to take boundaries easily.
