Virender Sehwag and Shoaib Akhtar have played a lot against each other over the years. Having retired from the game for a long time now, both have taken to commentary.

Currently, the duo are part of the commentary team for the ILT20 2024 that is being played in the UAE. The second season of the ILT20 started on January 19. So far four games have been played in the tournament with the fifth game scheduled on Monday between Dubai Capitals and Sharjah Warriors.

Former India opener Virender Sehwag and ex-Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar engaged in hilarious banter over Akhtar’s long run-up during his playing days. Akhtar posted a video of the two former players talking on Twitter saying that Sehwag felt his long run-up was a big distraction.

“Hamaray pyaray Viru bhai @virendersehwag yeh batatay huay k mera lamba run up ko kitna intezar kerwata tha. And he feels it was a big distraction,” Akhtar posted on Twitter.

Watch Funny Interaction Between Virender Sehwag And Shoaib Akhtar

Hamaray pyaray Viru bhai @virendersehwag yeh batatay huay k mera lamba run up ko kitna intezar kerwata tha.
And he feels it was a big distraction. @ilt20official @ilt20onzee #dpworldilt20 #allinforcricket pic.twitter.com/xwzJFFpZdp

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) January 21, 2024

In the video, Sehwag said: “Mai gardan neeche kar leta tha, maine kehta tha abhi lagega 10-15 seconds aane mey (I would keep looking down, knowing that it would take 10-15 second for him to finish his run-up).”

Sehwag replied: “Matlab aap dekh rahe ho ki mind mey thoughts aate hai maarega … joote pe marega, beamer marega sar pe kahi toh marega (A lot of thoughts would run in mind. Will he hit my toes or a beamer on my head? He will hit somewhere).”

There are a total of six teams playing in the tournament. Every team will play 10 games and the top four teams will play the knockout stages. The final will be played between the top two teams on February 17, 2024.

ILT20 2024 is a franchise T20 tournament of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The recent successful hosting of the IPL 2020 and 2021 seasons have made UAE the hub of domestic T20 leagues around the World. The T20 World Cup 2021 was also played in the UAE. That tournament too turned out to be a huge success with Pakistan upsetting India for a big win.

Sharjah will host eight ILT20 2024 matches including the Qualifier 2. Dubai will host 15 matches including Qualifier 1 and the final on February 17. Abu Dhabi will host 11 games including the Eliminator. The Knight Riders with their power-packed side will look to have a better campaign and possibly win the tournament after their forgetful season in 2023.

Talking about India and Pakistan, two teams are in polar opposite form in international cricket. Pakistan were whitewashed in the Test series against Australia. That followed a 41- T20I series loss to New Zealand. Pakistan’s recent performance led to Zaka Ashraf stepping down from the position of PCB Chief.

India, on the other hand, after the ODI World Cup won a T20I series against Australia, drew the T20I series against South Africa, won the ODI series against them, and is now preparing for the upcoming Test series against England at home.

The tour starts with the first test in Hyderabad from January 25-29. Visakhapatnam hosts the second Test from February 2-6, followed by the third Test in Rajkot from February 15-19. Ranchi hosts the fourth Test in challenging conditions from February 23-27. The tour concludes with the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala from March 7-11.

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