Why Saqlain Mushtaq hid his wife in the cupboard during 1999 World Cup

Pakistan were one of the finalists in the 1999 World Cup, and one of the star performers for skipper Wasim Akram in the tournament was Saqlain Mushtaq. The wily off-spinner ended up as the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the event with 17 scalps, at the young age of 23.

But it was Saqlain Mushtaq’s off-field antics which make for hilarious reading, especially the story of how he had to ‘lock up his wife’ in the cupboard of his hotel room during the 1999 World Cup.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had suddenly asked the players to send their family back in the middle of the tournament during the World Cup. But Saqlain Mushtaq, who had gotten married less than a year ago, decided not to follow that rule.

“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,” said Saqlain Mushtaq, replying to a fan’s question about the incident during an interview with Raunak Kapoor in the show ‘Beyond The Field’.

“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 the things as they are and don’t feel the need to try out new things for no reason. I decided that I’m not going to follow this,” he added.

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Saqlain Mushtaq narrates hilarious story

Saqlain Mushtaq, who went on to claim a famous hat-trick in a Super Six game against Zimbabwe, shared the story of how he hid his wife in the cupboard of his room when PCB 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,” Saqlain Mushtaq, who served as England spin bowling consultant till the 2019 World Cup, said.

The 43-year-old added that his wife only came out of the cupboard when teammates Azhar Mahmood and Mohammad Yousuf came to his room to have a chat about this new rule and they suspected that Mushtaq’s wife was in the room.

“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 they had given me an apartment there,” added Saqlain Mushtaq.