As the debate continues over the WAGs policy on the overseas trips, former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has revealed an interesting yet hilarious tale when he had to hide his wife in the cupboard of his hotel room during the 1999 Cricket World Cup in England.
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Well, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had suddenly asked the players to send their family back in the middle of the tournament during 1999 World Cup – which left Saqlain surprised as he was staying with his wife in the team hotel and he wasn’t ready to follow the unexpected change in the policy.
Mushtaq, one of the finest off-spinners in cricket’s history, who refers to himself as someone who doesn’t like to change things much, has recently recalled how he dealt with the situation by hiding his wife in the cupboard of his hotel room during the 1999 World Cup.
Saqlain told Raunak Kapoor in the show ‘Beyond The Field’: “Actually I got married in December 1998. My wife used to stay in London so in 1999 World Cup I stayed with my wife and there was a set pattern – work hard and train like a true professional with the team during day time and in the evenings I used to spend time with my wife. But suddenly they said that our families will be sent back home.”
He further added, “So, I told our head coach Richard Pybus, that everything is going so smooth then why this sudden change. I am someone who likes to keep things as they are and don’t feel the need to try out new things for no reason. I decided that I’m not gonna follow this.”
The former spinner further went on to recall how team management used to visit every player’s room to monitor whether the instructions were being followed or not and during that, he had to once ask his wife to hide in the cupboard when the manager and one other official came to visit his room.
Saqlain further noted, “The manager, coaches used to come and check our rooms. Some players also used to come for a chat. So, one day when I heard a knock on the door, I told my wife to go and hide inside the cupboard. The manager came, had a look, and went back. Another official came and went back. And all this while my wife was inside the cupboard. Then Azhar (Mahmood) and Yusuf came to have a chat with me about the new rules. They suspected that my wife was in the room. After they insisted, I gave in. So, I asked my wife to finally come out of the closet.”
He signed off by saying, “I managed to get away with it as after we lost the final to Australia, the atmosphere was very heavy, everyone was down. I went back to my hotel, checked out, and told my wife to go to my apartment which was also in London. I used to play county cricket so they had given me an apartment there.”
(With Hindustan Times Inputs)
