‘He picked a knife, I picked a fork’ – Shoaib Akhtar opens up on ‘fight’ with Matthew Hayden

Shoaib Akthar. (Photo Source: X/(Twitter)

The game of cricket has witnessed many spats both on and off the field. Over the years, there have been many incidents where players have been seen engaging in heated arguments or even fighting with each other.

However, the same has seemed to die down as time has gone on due to the ever-increasing strictness of the rules that have been implemented over the years in the sport.

Speaking of the same, former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar came forward and opined that the game of cricket has gone soft. Starting off by heaping praises on Pakistan’s ace pacer, Shaheen Afridi, Akhtar opined that the one thing he lacks is misbehaviour.

Furthermore, the 48-year-old also talked of an incident between him and Matthew Hayden. Pointing out the difference between modern cricket and his time, Akhtar stated that both he and Hayden were ready to hit each other.

“I don’t like it, me and Matthew Hayden, one day before our match, he picked up a knife, I picked up a fork. Both of us were ready to hit each other. Thank god my trainer came and he stopped us or else he would have hit me a lot. He would have made a chutney out of me, Matthew Hayden,” Shoaib Akhtar said in a video on the Wake up with Sorabh YouTube channel.

‘Do I look like Shoaib Malik to you?’ – Shoaib Akhtar recalls spat with Brendon McCullum

Akhtar also talked of a verbal spat with former New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullum. He talked of a time when McCullum walked down the pitch on one of Akhtar’s balls. The former pacer stated that he told McCullum that he would throw a beamer at him if he walked down again.

“He was walking down on Akhtar so he went up to him and said – Is your eye sight good? Do I look like Shoaib Malik to you? How can you walk down on me just like that? If you try to walk down on me again I will throw a beamer on you or I will kill you. If not here surely back in the hotel I will kill you,” Akhtar said.