Pakistan's Saqlain Mushtaq recalls hilarious incident from 1999 World Cup, says had hidden wife inside cupboard

The Pakistan squad - be it the past of the present - are known for many things. From an action on field turning into a meme or just the stories of match-fixing, the Men in Green have seen it all.

Recalling a funny incident during the 1999 World Cup, former Pakistan cricketer Saqlain Mushtaq spoke about how he had hidden his wife in the cupboard of his hotel room in England.

The man who is widely known as the inventor of the deceptive ‘doosras’, said that the reason for hiding his wife was because the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had suddenly asked players to send their family back in the middle of the tournament. Saqlain, who refers to himself as someone who doesn’t like to change things much decided to not follow the rule.

In a recent interview with Raunak Kapoor in the show ‘Beyond The Field’, he agreed about the same and said, “True! This is absolutely true.

“Actually I got married in December 1998. My wife used to stay in London so in 1999 World Cup I stayed with my wife and there was a set pattern – work hard and train like a true professional with the team during day time and in the evenings I used to spend time with my wife. But suddenly they said that our families will be sent back home. So I told our head coach Richard Pybus, that everything is going so smooth then why this sudden change. I am someone who likes to keep things as they are and don’t feel the need to try out new things for no reason. I decided that I’m not gonna follow this,” Saqlain said, who had taken a hat-trick against Zimbabwe in that World Cup.

The-spinner narrated how he hid his wife in the cupboard when the Pakistan team’s manager and officials came to check.

“The manager, coaches used to come and check our rooms. Some players also used to come for a chat. So one day when I heard a knock on the door, I told my wife to go and hide inside the cupboard. The manager came, had a look, and went back. Another official came and went back. And all this while my wife was inside the cupboard. Then Azhar (Mahmood) and Yusuf came to have a chat with me about the new rules. They suspected that my wife was in the room. After they insisted I gave in. So I asked my wife to finally come out of the closet.

“I managed to get away with it as after we lost the final to Australia, the atmosphere was very heavy, everyone was down. I went back to my hotel, checked out, and told my wife to go to my apartment which was also in London. I used to play county cricket so they had given me an apartment there,” added Saqlain.

As for Saqlain's cricketing career, he represented Pakistan in 49 Tests and 169 ODIs picking up 208 and 288 wickets respectively.