How Did the Twitter Banter Between Mohammad Amir and Harbhajan Singh Become Entertainment for Fans?

(Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir and India’s Harbhajan Singh in a frame)

India vs Pakistan has always been a battle that is thoroughly enjoyed by the fans because of the emotions, passion and aggression involved in it. Moreover, the matches between both these teams have seen numerous fights that have gone on to the next level. Players like Gautam Gambhir, Shahid Afridi, Ishant Sharma, Kamran Akmal, and others are a few of them who have been part of this intense rivalry. However, there was a banter that was off-the-field between two superstars of both teams that turned into an ugly fight and the fans enjoyed it the most because of the words used by both sides on the X (Twitter) platform.

What was the reason behind Harbhajan Singh and Mohammad Amir’s banter?

It was the 2021 T20 World Cup when India and Pakistan were scheduled to meet at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Harbhajan Singh was constantly involved in banter with the former Pakistan player Shoaib Akhtar and reminded him that the Indian team was too strong for the Pakistan team and hence it will be an easy win for the Men in Blue. Moreover, the record of the Indian team was also better against the Pakistan’s team and hence the odds were highly in the favour of the Indian team to get a win and start their tournament on a high note.

(Harbhajan Singh and Shoaib Akhtar during an India-Pakistan match)

But in the match, it was the Pakistan side that came out as a dominant team as in just the first over itself, the dismissal of Rohit Sharma against Shaheen Afridi gave India an early shock and they were not able to recover after it. With just 151 runs on the board with the help of Kohli’s half century, India thought to give a tough fight but instead were blown out by the Pakistan’s openers. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan got to their fifties and completed the run chase to give the Pakistan team a win by 10 wickets. This led to a banter between Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan Singh where the Pakistan cricketer was seen taking a dig at the Indian cricket team.

How Did Mohammad Amir Stir Up Harbhajan Singh with His Tweets?

After losing to the Pakistan team, it was a tough moment for all the Indian fans and the players and they were constantly bashed by the fans of other teams for being a bit overconfident against the Pakistan team. The same was with the Indian former skinner Harbhajan Singh, who was criticised for saying that the Pakistan team should give a walkover to the Indian team as they had a strong lineup and it wasn’t going to be easy for the Men in Green. To this, Pakistan’s pacer Mohammad Amir tweeted on Harbhajan Singh saying that:

“hello everyone woh pochna yeah tha @harbhajan_singh paa ji ne TV to ni tora apna koi ni hota hai end of the day it's a game of cricket.”

https://x.com/iamamirofficial/status/1452536740724592646

This completely riled up Harbhajan Singh who was in no mood for funny banter and to this, he replied by posting a video of the match where Harbhajan Singh smashed a six to Mohammad Amir in a match between India and Pakistan to take his team to victory. At that time, Mohammad Amir was a young bowler and in that match, Harbhajan Singh had a verbal spat against Shoaib Akhtar and after finishing the match he celebrated aggressively. In the tweet, Harbhajan Singh wrote:

“Ab Tum bi bologe @iamamirofficial yeh 6 ki landing tumhare ghar k tv par to nahi hui thi ?? Koi nahi hota hai end of the day it’s a game of cricket as u rightly said.”

https://x.com/harbhajan_singh/status/1453058886420807684

The fun chat turned serious when Mohammad Amir shared a video of Shahid Afridi hitting Harbhajan Singh for four sixes in a Test match. This upset Harbhajan Singh, changing the mood completely. The friendly banter turned into a heated exchange, causing discomfort among fans. They watched as the lighthearted interaction transformed into a tense situation between the two players.

“https://youtu.be/CTXFuQkW1vU me busy tha @harbhajan_singh apki bowling dekh raha tha test jab LaLA ne apko 4 bowls pe 4 sixes mare thay but cricket hai lag sakte but test cricket me thora ziada ho gia tha”

https://x.com/iamamirofficial/status/1453061342718578690

To this, Harbhajan Singh got furious and fired back at Mohammad Amir, bringing up the Lord's Test incident from 2010, where Amir got in trouble for spot-fixing. Harbhajan Singh seemed really upset with Amir, especially when Amir mentioned the match-fixing scandal. This made things go from bad to worse. Harbhajan Singh didn't hold back, blaming Amir for ruining cricket's reputation with his bad behaviour. Their argument got more intense, with Harbhajan Singh expressing how disappointed he was with Amir's actions.

“Lords mai no ball kaise ho gya tha ?? Kitna liya kisne diya ? Test cricket hai no ball kaise ho sakta hai ? Shame on u and ur other supporters for disgracing this beautiful game.”

https://x.com/harbhajan_singh/status/1453062908376616961

Considering this, the Pakistan’s pacer was completely baffled by this as in the past, he was caught in a spot fixing scandal and it was a shame for the entire Pakistan nation. Harbhajan Singh slammed the Pakistan pacer for this and in reply, Mohammad Amir said:

“Bare hi dheet ho talking about my past wouldn't change the fact that tumko 3 din pehle moun ki khani pari. and how about your illegal bowling action mate ab nikal or humko WC win karta dekh. walk over tu nhi mila jao Park me walk karo u'll feel better”

https://x.com/iamamirofficial/status/1453076623847313410

Apart from this reply, Mohammad Amir even used some derogatory words in his tweet which made the matter further worse for both the players and the fans. It was a serious matter going on and on the Internet, the fans from both the countries were constantly involved in it. Harbhajan Singh replied by saying:

“only Paisa paisa paisa paisa .. na izzat na kuch aur sirf paisa..bataoge nahi apne desh walo ko aur supporters ko k kitna mila tha .. get lost I feel yuk talking to people like you for insulting this game and making people fool with ur acts”

https://x.com/harbhajan_singh/status/1453072553975689220

In the last tweet, Harbhajan Singh finally ended the conversation by posting the same video of the six that he hit on Mohammad Amir’s ball in the match against Pakistan. The whole fight turned into an ugly incident where the past of both the cricketers came out. In 2010, during Pakistan's tour of England, Mohammad Amir, along with Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt, got caught up in a spot-fixing scandal. This incident led to significant bans for all three players. However, despite the controversy, Pakistan made the decision to reinstate Amir into international cricket in 2016. Both Amir and Asif were found guilty of intentionally bowling no-balls, resulting in their suspension from the sport.