The Indian team toured Pakistan in 1978 for a Test series. Meanwhile, a Pakistani player called Indian cricketers infidels. Which was very shocking for the Indian players.
Former cricketer Mohinder Amarnath has mentioned this in his book 'Fearless'. But, it does not mention the name of that player. Non-Muslims are called Kafir in Islam.
We were surprised by this comment from the Cambridge educated cricketer He wrote, Indian cricketers were given a warm welcome when they arrived in Pakistan. But the players were shocked when an overseas-educated Pakistani cricketer called them infidels. The incident took place after a match played in Rawalpindi. After the match we were boarding the bus. Meanwhile, a Cambridge-educated Pakistani cricketer unnecessarily said, “Sit, seat, seat these infidels quickly.”
Mohinder Amarnath further says in his book,
'What good is a good education if it cannot change their negative attitudes towards others?'
Amarnath's book was released on November 28.
The cricketers received a grand welcome at the Karachi airport He further wrote, Unlike Rawalpindi, the cricketers received a very warm welcome at the Karachi airport. Around 40,000 to 50,000 people turned up to welcome the visiting team. The crowd size was double that of Rawalpindi. The distance from the airport to the hotel was supposed to be 20 minutes, but it took us four hours. People occupied every inch of space on footpaths and roads, refusing to leave unless they caught a glimpse of the Indian cricketers or shook hands with us. They were warm and hospitable.
The rivalry on the tour came to light more than expected He has written one more thing about this journey in this book. Some Pakistani players behaved completely differently, he wrote. The animosity on the tour turned out to be more than expected. Apparently, some Pakistani players acted on the advice of the seniors and kept a distance from us. When we spoke to him, his tone and style were aggressive. At least two of them, Javed Miandad and Sarfaraz Nawaz, and to a lesser extent Mudassar Nazhar, took the advice a little more seriously. I don't think Javed or Sarfaraz ever shut up on the field.
Image Credit: Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).