Javed Miandad and I got along well off the ground: Kiran More

The two teams don't play bilateral series anymore, which means that the players don't get to visit each others' homes etc., but on the field there is ample evidence of player bonhomie and mutual respect, like we saw in Sunday's Asia Cup match, which turned out to be quite the thriller that India won by 5 wickets. But there was a time when an India-Pakistan cricket match was almost sure to produce some on-field altercation or banter. One unforgettable instance was the Kiran More vs Javed Miandad incident in the 1992 World Cup, which every hard core Indian and Pakistan cricket fan will remember or know about.

Kiran More, who toured Pakistan in 1989, spoke to Times of India recently about that incident in an interview, along with his friendship with players from across the border. What had happened that led to Javed Miandad jumping like that in that 1992 World Cup match? I think it is the match pressure and arguments we had on the field. Both sides had sledged each other.

When he came to bat we were all sledging him and when we went to bat, they were sledging us. This is how the reaction came out. I appealed when a couple of balls were bowled down the leg side and then he asked me why I was appealing.

The argument went on and then he started jumping around and imitating me. That is how the famous reaction came out, which you have seen on TV. Was there constant sledging going on with Javed Miandad and other Pakistan players? Everyone used to sledge on the field and the Pakistani team did too, their whole team did.

On the field, both sides sledged Who were your good friends from the Pakistani team back in the day? I had a few good friends from the Pakistan team. Today, there is a lot of friendship between both sides. Waqar