India all-rounder Vijay Shankar on Thursday revealed that one day before the high voltage clash between India and Pakistan in Manchester, a Pakistani fan tried to rile up him and his teammates.
Talking on Bharat Army podcast, Shankar recalled that he had gone for coffee with some of his teammates one day before the match when Pakistani fans came and started abusing them.
“Few of us players had gone out for coffee one day before the game when a Pakistan fan came up to us and he was literally abusing us. So that was my first experience of an India-Pakistan game,” Shankar said on the Bharat Army Podcast.
“We just had to take it. He was abusing us and recording everything, so we couldn’t react. All we could do was sit and watch what he was doing,” Shankar added.
Vijay Shankar may have only featured in 12 ODIs and 9 T20Is for India, but the 29-year-old made an immediate impact on his World Cup debut game against Pakistan in Manchester last year.
“So one day before the game, they told me, be prepared, you’ll be playing. And I was like, ‘OK.'” Vijay Shankar said on The Bharat Army’s podcast.
Shankar, who was slotted in the playing XI, to replace the injured Shikhar Dhawan made a handy contribution with the bat, scoring 15 runs in as many balls as India posted a mammoth total of 336 for 5 in 50 overs.
In the marque clash held on June 16, Shankar became the third bowler in the ODI World Cup history to scalp a wicket off the very first ball he bowled.