Updated On: 02 July, 2020 08:15 AM IST | | IANS

Saqlain Mushtaq. Pic courtesy/ Instagram account
Pakistan spin great Saqlain Mushtaq said that he had to once hide his wife in the cupboard of his hotel room after a sudden change in the team policy meant that all family members of the players had to be sent home during the 1999 World Cup. Saqlain said that spending time with his wife, who stayed in London, had become an important part of his routine and he was not ready to follow the sudden change in rules. "Actually I got married in December 1998. My wife used to stay in London so in the 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," Saqlain said in an interview with presenter 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 gonna follow this." Saqlain said that players' rooms were checked from time to time and in that time, he asked his wife to go hide in the cupboard. "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.