Didn''t thrash Bhajji, Yuvi: Akhtar

Islamabad, July 5

Former Pakistan tearaway pacer Shoaib Akhtar on Tuesday laughed off Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh’s claim that Akhtar had beaten him and Yuvraj Singh during India’s tour to Pakistan in 2004.

Calling the incident a joke, the 40-year-old said the Indian offie had “exaggerated” the whole episode, which, he claimed, was just an incident of arm-wrestling. “I am friends with both Harbhajan and Yuvraj, and whatever happened in Islamabad hotel room was a joke,” said Akhtar. “Harbhajan exaggerated the whole story. Despite being an aggressive player, it’s not in my nature to beat my juniors. It was an incident of arm-wrestling.”

In an interview a few days back, Harbhajan had claimed that Akhtar pummelled him and Yuvraj during their 2004 tour to Pakistan. “Once he hit Yuvraj and me. Because of his heavy build, it was difficult to overpower him,” Harbhajan told a news channel. – IANS