LAHORE – Cricket fans witnessed an unexpected light moment ahead of the Asia Cup final as Pakistan cricket legend Shoaib Akhtar made a laugh-out-loud slip of the tongue on live TV. While breaking down the India-Pakistan clash on the popular cricket show Game On Hai, Akhtar mistakenly swapped cricketer Abhishek Sharma’s name with Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan’s.
In a dead-serious tone, Akhtar said: “If Pakistan get Abhishek Bachchan out early, what happens to India’s middle order? Their middle order hasn’t performed well.” The panel immediately burst into uncontrollable laughter, and Akhtar was swiftly corrected.
The on air blunder instantly went viral across social media platforms, sparking endless memes and jokes. Abhishek Bachchan himself. Jumping into the fun, the actor posted a witty response on X (formerly Twitter): “Sir, with all due respect, don’t think they’ll even manage that! And I’m not even good at playing cricket.” His savage comeback lit up the internet, leaving fans in splits.
This lighthearted gaffe came at time when Shoaib Akhtar had been openly questioning Pakistan’s poor performances in recent matches. Yet, after Pakistan’s crucial win over Bangladesh that propelled them into the final, Akhtar shifted his tone and backed the team to take the fight to India.
According to him, the key lies in striking early blows: “If Pakistan removes Abhishek Sharma quickly, the game can turn. We need to shatter the aura around India and play with the same aggression we showed against Bangladesh. Don’t think about bowling 20 overs, go in to bowl them out. Make India fight for every single run.”
What began as a simple tongue slip has now turned into one of the most talked-about pre-final moments, uniting cricket fans and Bollywood buffs alike in laughter.
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