Former cricketer and ex-Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja has said that Imran Khan wrote a legendary cricketer’s name on the pillow and punched it hard when the latter got out against India, leading Pakistan to lose a One Day International (ODI) match.
“We played six ODIs and won five of them in India. We lost [a] match when Abdul Qadir got out [at the moment] when the score was level,” he said while appearing on a private media outlet on Wednesday, adding that, despite the match being tied, India won as Pakistan lost more wickets than India.
Raja said Khan told Abdul Qadir, “I wrote your name on the pillow and punched it hard,” leaving the host in stitches.
He was referring to Pakistan’s visit to India in 1987, when both teams played six ODIs. Pakistan lost only one match, played on March 20 in Hyderabad, with a score of 212/7. Despite the match being tied, India won, as it had lost only six wickets.
In that series, Abdul Qadir was the second-highest wicket-taker (eight). Meanwhile, Javed Miandad was the leading scorer with 229 runs.
Responding to the Indian media reports suggesting that if India wins the final of the Asia Cup 2025, the team perhaps would not take the winning trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, Raja described the idea as “meaningless” and went on to say that he has no idea about such a development.
Ramiz Raja’s remarks came in the backdrop of September 14’s Pakistan-India clash in the Men’s Asia Cup in Dubai, when the former lost by seven wickets.
Pakistan will face India again on September 21, as both teams have qualified for the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup.