The T20 World Cup 2021 clash between India and Pakistan served as a spark for long-simmering rivalries and hostility on both sides of the border. What was meant to be simply another cricket match turned into a source of social unrest and a forum for players to air their personal grievances And that’s where things turned ugly.
It all started when former left-arm bowler of Pakistan, Mohammad Amir went to social media to taunt Harbhajan Singh after India’s humiliating 10 wicket loss to Pakistan in the T20 World Cup on Sunday in their first T20 World Cup 2021 match, which ended Pakistan’s long run of ODI and T20 World Cup defeats against the Men in Blue since the game’s birth.
On Monday, Amir said on Twitter,
“Hello everyone woh pochna yeah tha @harbhajan singh paa ji ne TV to ni tora apna koi ni hota hai end of the day it’s a game of cricket.”
hello everyone woh pochna yeah tha @harbhajan_singh paa ji ne TV to ni tora apna koi ni hota hai end of the day its a game of cricket 😊.
— Mohammad Amir (@iamamirofficial) October 25, 2021
He was broadly referring to “I’d like to inquire did Habhajan breaks off his TV?” The remark was made in response to Indians’ remarks about Pakistani supporters breaking their television sets after losing to India in previous world cup editions.
Consider the whole conversation between Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh and Pakistan bowler Mohammad Amir on the internet, the whole thing started off as harmless teasing, but gradually devolved into personal attacks and digs at each other’s pasts.
Harbhajan Singh, who is notorious for not shying away from a chance to humiliate someone, responded to Amir’s tweet with a video of him smashing a long six off the Pakistani pacer’s delivery after Shoaib Akhtar had earlier tried to get under his skin in the same match.
To Amir’s tweet, Singh replied by quoting his tweet on Twitter saying,
“Ab Tum bi bologe @iamamirofficial. yeh 6 ki landing tumhare ghar k tv par to nahi hui thi ?? Koi nahi hota hai end of the day it’s a game of cricket as u rightly said.”
Harbhajan’s tweet loosely translates to “Now you will also say things? Did this six land on your TV at home?” He also attached a video of him striking a last over six against Pakistan with this tweet.
Ab Tum bi bologe @iamamirofficial yeh 6 ki landing tumhare ghar k tv par to nahi hui thi ?? Koi nahi hota hai end of the day it’s a game of cricket as u rightly said 🤣 https://t.co/XqSnWhg9t3 pic.twitter.com/4IuWpPOpF1
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 26, 2021
Things only got worse from there when the two players battled through tweets, with Amir mocking the Indian spinner with a video of him conceding four sixes off four deliveries to Shahid Afridi.
Harbhajan Singh, never been the one who turns back. He chastised Amir for the ‘Lord’s Test No-Ball spot-fixing episode’ in 2010 which is the biggest stain on Amir’s cricketing career when he was found guilty of spot-fixing during the 2010 Test series against England.
“Lords mai no ball kaise ho gya tha ?? Kitna liya kisne diya ? Test cricket hai no ball kaise ho sakta hai ? Shame on u and ur other supporters for disgracing this beautiful game.”
Lords mai no ball kaise ho gya tha ?? Kitna liya kisne diya ? Test cricket hai no ball kaise ho sakta hai ? Shame on u and ur other supporters for disgracing this beautiful game https://t.co/nbv6SWMvQl
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 26, 2021
Singh decided to double down on Amir’s history, this time uploading video of the exact moment it became plain that the Pakistani bowler was up to no good when he bowled a blatant no-ball in the game’s longest format.
Singh tweeted while tagging the cricketer,
“For people like you @iamamirofficial only Paisa paisa paisa paisa .. na izzat na kuch aur sirf paisa..bataoge nahi apne desh walo ko aur supporters ko k kitna mila tha .. get lost I feel yuk talking to people like you for insulting this game and making people fool with ur acts.”
For people like you @iamamirofficial only Paisa paisa paisa paisa .. na izzat na kuch aur sirf paisa..bataoge nahi apne desh walo ko aur supporters ko k kitna mila tha .. get lost I feel yuk talking to people like you for insulting this game and making people fool with ur acts https://t.co/5aPmXtYKqm pic.twitter.com/PhveqewN6h
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 26, 2021
To which Amir responded with,
“Bare hi dheet ho talking about my past wouldn’t change the fact that tumko 3 din pehle moun ki khani pari. and how about your illegal bowling action mate ab nikal or humko WC win karta dekh. walk over tu nhi mila jao Park me walk karo u’ll feel better”
Bare hi dheet ho talking about my past wouldn’t change the fact that tumko 3 din pehle moun ki khani pari. and how about your illegal bowling action mate ab nikal or humko WC win karta dekh. walk over tu nhi mila jao Park me walk karo u’ll feel better @harbhajan_singh https://t.co/i1dCh7I28c
— Mohammad Amir (@iamamirofficial) October 26, 2021
If loosely translated, it means, “Talking about my history won’t change the fact that you lost on Sunday,” What about your illegal bowling action, mate? Just go away till we win the World Cup. You didn’t obtain a walkover, now is the time to go for a walk in the park.”
This debate turns too ugly when Harbhajan responded with a video of him striking a six in the last over to help India win the match. And with the aforementioned footage, he simply tweeted,
Fixer ko sixer.. out of the park @iamamirofficial chal daffa ho ja pic.twitter.com/UiUp8cAc0g
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) October 26, 2021
To this, Amir responded,
chal bhai me tu laga sone, u sit and do some icing on ur pichwara trust me u’ll in ur senses. GOOD NIGHT . https://t.co/76CEWvADDq
— Mohammad Amir (@iamamirofficial) October 26, 2021