Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar got a chance to play in the first season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Akhtar was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team in the 2008 IPL. The command of the team was in the hands of Sourav Ganguly. Akhtar has shared an anecdote, in which he told how dismissing Sachin Tendulkar for zero proved to be a big mistake for him. Akhtar said that the situation on the field had become such that Ganguly had to change my field placement.
Akhtar said, ‘We had scored very few runs against Mumbai Indians. Before the match, Sachin and I had a friendly conversation and we both greeted each other. Wankhede had a beautiful stadium and was packed. But I got Sachin out in the very first over and it was my big mistake. When I was fielding at fine leg, people were abusing me.
He further said, ‘Sourav Ganguly told me come to mid-wicket, these people will kill you. Who told you to get Sachin out? That too in Mumbai. Talking about that match, Mumbai Indians got KKR all out for just 67 runs. Shaun Pollock took three wickets while Dwayne Bravo, Rohan Raje and Dominic Thorneley took two wickets each. Mumbai Indians, however, easily won the match by eight wickets. In 5.3 overs, Mumbai Indians had achieved the target for the loss of two wickets. Sanath Jayasuriya played a brilliant innings of 48 not out off 17 balls.