Follow UsSajid Khan, the Pakistan off-spinner who celebrates in the mould of India's Shikhar Dhawan and most Kabaddi players across the Indian subcontinent- twirling the moustache with a slap on one thigh and raising the other in the air momentarily, added another facet to his already multifaceted skill set.
The 31-year-old, who had a game-changing partnership of 72 runs for the ninth wicket with Saud Shakeel, claimed that he was able to fool England spinners of subcontinental descent by chattering with his partner Saud Shakeel in Urdu.
"We were only doing that [speaking loudly in Urdu] to deceive the bowlers. Rehan and Shoaib [Bashir] 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 said in the press conference at the end of Day 2 of the third Test in Rawalpindi.
The off-break bowler, who picked up nine wickets in the Multan Test and six in the first innings of the third Test in Rawalpindi, also smashed unbeaten 48 with the bat in this game.
Rehan Ahmed categorically denied being fooled by Urdu. However, he still did laud Sajid’s batting performance which gave Pakistan a vital lead of 77 runs.
"He didn't fool me at all, he just said it for the media. I didn't even hear him,” Ahmed said at the end of the day.
“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,” added the leg-break bowler who picked four wickets in Pakistan’s first innings.
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