Harbhajan, Afridi remain good friends

Shahid Afridi insists there is still friendship between him and Harbhajan Singh who was clobbered for four sixes by the dashing Pakistan all-rounder on the second day of the first Test in Lahore.

Afridi said the Indian off-spinner had walked up to him later and asked if he had singled him out deliberately for punishment.

"Naturally, my answer was no," Afridi told PTI on the fourth day of the match on Monday during one of the bad light interruptions.

"We remain good friends. I had a job to do and I did it according to my style. Naturally, if the conditions would have been friendly for spinners, Harbhajan would have created problems for me because that is his job," Afridi said.

"However, on the field there is no friendship but only fierce rivalry and competition and we all know about that."

Afridi dismissed suggestions that Harbhajan had indulged in sledging when he was being hit mercilessly all over the park.

"He did not talk to me at all. He did not even look at me. But yesterday, he came to me and simply asked if I had deliberately picked him.

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Afridi recalled that he was dismissed by Harbhajan while playing a defensive stroke in the Kanpur one-dayer (2005) in which the Pathan had scored another of his hurricane centuries. "But it (my batting here) was no revenge against that dismissal. But I must admit that before that over started, I had told Kamran Akmal (his batting partner) that I would attempt for six sixes. So in that context, it was more of a premeditated attempt rather than merely punishing the bad balls.

"Harbhajan is a lovely man and I enjoy his company. I share more jokes with him than any other Indian cricketer. He takes everything in its stride. I am sure he will forget Saturday very soon," Afridi said.