Noman Ali and Sajid Khan in press conference© X (Twitter)
Pakistan's experienced spinner Sajid Khan left the press room in splits with his response as he was asked about the 'scare' he was giving to England batters in the third Test of the series at Rawalpindi. Noman Ali and Sajid Khan worked as a pair to decimate the England batting unit in the Test, producing the same sort of partnership that the legendary Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis used to. When the same aspect was put in front of Sajid in the post-match press conference on Saturday, he gave an epic reply.
"We witnessed that you were scaring England batters with your bowling while Noman was picking wickets, working the same way as Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis used to," a reporter asserted.
In reply, Sajid said: "Maine to kisi ko nahi daraya. Aap log kehte ho ki daraya hai. Allah ne look aisi di hai ki main hansta bhi hun to log darr jaate hain (I didn't scare anyone, but you people keep saying this. God has given me such a look that even if I laugh, people get scared)."
Sajid Khan replies to a question about "scaring" people #PAKvENG | #PakistanCricket pic.twitter.com/VLqTKfAGg9
— Grassroots Cricket (@grassrootscric) October 26, 2024
The terms of play of the second and third Tests were dictated by Sajid and Noman. Apart from providing crucial contributions at the tail end, the duo combined to take 39 wickets in the two Tests, which played a direct role in ending Pakistan's first series win after four attempts.
Sajid labelled Noman as Pakistan's most experienced spinner and claimed that the veteran deserved the Man of the Series award alongside him.
"Noman bhai is one of the most experienced spinners in our country. He has been a great mate and has served well. He deserved this PoS award with me. Congrats to the nation for this win," Sajid said in the post-match presentation.
Skipper Shan Masood's wait for his first series win as Pakistan's Test captain ended alongside the nation's eager hope of seeing the home side win on their turf for the first time since 2021 was also fulfilled.
Sajid, who made a comeback to the side, thanked God for gracing them with a 2-1 series win against England and said, "Thankful to god for the series win. There was no pressure as such. I was making a comeback, but there were people who backed me."
With ANI Inputs