My sons will pull my leg for years, says Azhar Ali
abu dhabi — Azhar Ali has amassed more than 5,000 Test runs, including double and triple centuries. Pakistan’s former oneday captain is an astute player with multiple records in all formats of the game too but on Thursday he turned foolhardy.
It was the third day of the seriesdeciding Test match against Australia in the UAE capital. Azhar had edged Peter Siddle through gully and thought it had crossed the boundary. He then got engaged in a mid-pitch chat with partner Asad Shafiq. However, Mitchell Starc chased the ball, which had stopped short of the boundary and returned to keeper Tim Paine, who ran Azhar out.
It was a disappointing end to a well-played 64 runs for Azhar. Talking about the dismissal at a post-match press conference, he said: “It was one of those days. I was a bit ignorant. We didn’t realise the ball would stop like that before the boundary line. I didn’t notice a fielder running after the ball. When he (Starc) threw the ball, I thought it was a normal return to the keeper after the boundary. When Tim Paine, the keeper, dashed towards the stumps with ball in his gloves, I took it as a funny thing.”
Azhar said he was happy with his batting after a poor run of form. “It was disappointing (to get run out) and an opportunity lost.”
Azhar said that even as everyone was shocked in the dressing room most saw the lighter side.
And he added that his sons will be pulling his leg further on the incident. “They are going to speak about this for years.”