In a recent interview, the former Indian cricketer and a popular TV commentator remembered a 36-year-old game between India and Pakistan where the match turned into a brawl in between. Here’s what happened.
Sanjay Manjrekar recalled 1989 Karachi game between India and Pakistan
Sanjay Manjrekar, former Indian cricketer, reminisced on the Karachi 1989 Test against Pakistan, and said that during the game, an intruder from stands interrupted the match and came on the field, shouting anti-India slogans. This led to a ‘full-blown scuffle’ in the middle of the match. While speaking on a show on Doordarshan, The Great Indian Cricket Show, Manjrekar shared one of the most controversial incident in cricket history and said, ”During a match in Karachi, I was at mid-off when suddenly a man in local attire walked onto the field, shouting anti-India slogans.
Before we could react, he charged straight at our captain, Krishnamachari Srikkanth.”
”What followed was surreal. A full-blown scuffle in the middle of a Test match! Srikkanth fought back, his shirt buttons ripped, and the game stopped as security scrambled to intervene,” he added.
Sharing the funniest part about the incident, he further said, ”Kiran More jumped in to defend his captain and started kicking the intruder with his pads still on! It was chaos, like a street fight on a cricket pitch.”
For those unversed, the incident took place during the first Test of India’s 1989 tour of Pakistan at the National Stadium in Karachi. Interestingly, the series was also Sachin Tendulkar’s debut in the red-ball format. Notably, the match and the series ended in a draw.
Over the years, several controversial incidents have occurred during India vs Pakistan matches. The most recent encounter was during the Asia Cup 2025, when Indian opener Abhishek Sharma had an ugly verbal spat with Pakistani pacer Haris Rauf. Throughout the tournament, Indian players and support staff avoided shaking hands with Pakistani players. Even after winning the title for the 9th time, the Indian team refused to collect the winner’s medal and the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, who is the chief of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and also happens to be the Interior Minister of Pakistan.
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