Pakistan’s seasoned off-spinner Sajid Khan has employed a unique strategy to unsettle England players during the ongoing third Test in Rawalpindi. Beyond his trademark mustache twirling and thigh thumping, Sajid has leveraged his bilingualism to gain an edge.
While Sajid’s bowling prowess stems from his spin angle and delivery flight, his batting exploits are a different tale. During the 86th over, Sajid engaged in a conversation with vice-captain Saud Shakeel, oblivious to the stump mic capturing their exchange.
Sajid’s subsequent six over midwicket into the Javed Miandad stand was a deliberate ploy, as he revealed. The intended targets were Pakistan-origin spinners Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir.
“We were only doing that [speaking loudly in Urdu] to deceive the bowlers. Rehan and Shoaib understand Urdu, so to fool them, we wanted them to hear we were only looking for the single. When we did that, they brought the field up, and the bowlers flighted it. Saud told me once they do, no half measures: just go for the big shot as hard as you can,” Sajid explained.
In the following over, Sajid unleashed two sixes and a four against Bashir, again targeting the midwicket region. His unbeaten 48 off 48 balls propelled Pakistan to 344.
Rehan acknowledged Sajid’s impressive batting but denied being misled by the Urdu conversation.
“He didn’t fool me at all. He just said it for the media. I didn’t even hear him. He said something like he’s going to run down this ball, and I knew he was going to try and scoop me, and it didn’t really work. I think he batted well, and he hit some big blows, but he didn’t really fool me or Bash,” Rehan said.
Sajid’s tactics have added an intriguing dimension to the Test match, showcasing his ability to influence the game both on and off the field.
