"Didn’t sleep the night before India-Pakistan match in WC 2011" says Harbhajan Singh

Former Indian International and Mumbai Indians spinner Harbhajan Singh revealed that he couldn’t sleep the night before the India-Pakistan match in the ICC World Cup of 2011 in Mohali. Harbhajan Singh made this revelation ahead of India’s match against their arch-rivals todayt at the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy in England.

Harbhajan Singh was a part of the World-Cup winning squad of 2011, where India defeated Australia in Quarter-finals, Sri-Lanka in the Finals and Pakistan in the semi-finals. India lifted the trophy after 28 long years. Interestingly, Harbhajan Singh was also a part of the winning squad of T20 World Cup of 2007. India defeated Pakistan in the finals to lift the ICC World T20 Trophy in South Africa,

Looking at the intensity of Indo-Pak matches, Harbhajan Singh described in his column about the anxiety one faced prior to the clash. Bhajji found the whole scenario analogous to going to war with the country, which is not easy for any player to digest.

“I remember the India-Pakistan semi-final in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. I didn’t sleep the night before the match because I was constantly thinking about what people would say and how they would react if we were to lose. People expect a lot more from you when you play Pakistan. It seems like we’re going to war with them. This certainly gets to the players.” described Bhajji in his column for the ICC.

Couldn’t sleep after the victory either

Harbhajan later mentioned that it is not easy for a player to sleep even after the high-intensity game. “That said, I couldn’t sleep after the game either as I was too happy celebrating! All of this happens when you face Pakistan.” continued the Turbanator.

The spinner from Punjab concluded by saying that out of all the India-Pakistan matches, it was the semi-final at home which stood out for Bhajji.  “My best memory of an India-Pakistan game is the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final. I took two crucial wickets — Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi. It was after that point that I felt the match had swung our way. I was happy that my contributions led us to victory. It helped us book a place in the final. It was more special as the match was played on my home ground — Mohali.” concluded Harbhajan Singh.