Rashid Latif takes an U-turn after backlash, admits Sehwag was a great player

A few days ago, former Pakistani wicket-keeper Rashid Latif recorded a video where he bashed former Indian opener Virender Sehwag. After India defeated Pakistan in their first game of the ICC Champions Trophy, Sehwag termed the Pakistani team as the son of the Indian team. This comment was not taken lightly by Latif, as he decided to teach him a lesson.

The 48-year old said many harsh words in his video. After the video went viral, the Indian cricket fraternity was fuming with rage. Indian batsman Manoj Tiwary was so angry that he decided to give a befitting reply to Latif. It was then Tiwary’s turn to record a video, where he has called Latif a donkey. The matter did not stop here, as he warned Latif not to record another video or else the consequences will not be good for him.

But Latif did record another video. The only point is, in his latest video, the Karachi-born former cricketer has taken a U-turn. He has mentioned that no one from the Indian cricket fraternity is his enemy. “I would like to congratulate India. They have a good chance of making it into the finals,” said Latif. After the introductory line, he went to praise the current and former Indian cricketers.

“Virat Kohli is the best batsman in the world. Kumble (Indian head coach) has played against me. He is a very honest person. Also, the others who have played against me or I have heard about them, like- Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Ajay Jadeja, Azharuddin, Srinath, Srikkanth, I would like to congratulate them all. I don’t have a rivalry with anyone,” said the former Allied Bank player.

I wanted to teach Sehwag a lesson

Latif revealed that the sole purpose of recording the video was to teach Virender Sehwag a lesson. He clarified “I wanted to warn Sehwag a lesson after his comments on Pakistan. We should respect each other. Sehwag was a great player who has scored two triple centuries. But he must understand he should not disrespect a country. I am not talking only about Pakistan but he should not disrespect teams like Sri Lanka or Bangladesh.”

He then said that the cricket of Asian sub-continent has been able to achieve new highs only because of the legends that India and Pakistan have produced over the years. For the conclusion, he warned Sehwag and said “If you make such comments, then the things are not restricted only to cricket. It crosses the limits. So I would like you to keep a check of your words and I will also keep a check on my words.” He also wished to see an India-Pakistan bilateral series in the coming days.

Watch the video here