Gatting wonders why people still talk about spat with Shakur Rana

London, July 15 (UNI) Former England captain Mike Gatting can't comprehend why people still talk about his almost two-decade old spat with Pakistani umpire Shakur Rana as the bitterness which emanated between the two countries from the feud has subsided and the rivalry is now limited to the field.

''Frankly I don't think about what happened that day and wonder why people always keep talking about it,'' Gatting told 'The News'.

''It was an unnecessary incident that shouldn't have happened. It was a sad episode,'' he added.

Gatting was accused of cheating by Rana during England's 1987 tour of Pakistan, which led to a heated exchange of words between the two. Rana later refused to stand in the match unless Gatting apologised. The former captain did give a written apology but the incident strained the relations between the countries.

The mercurial player, however, insists that the situation has changed now and the issue no longer affects the on-filed atmosphere.

''The only rivalry (between Pakistan and England) I see now is something that is necessary at this level of the game. Players from both sides are very competitive and I am looking forward to an exciting series,'' he said referring to the ongoing Test series between the two sides here.

Gatting felt injuries to both sides have brought the two teams on equal footing but added Pakistan deserved to overtake England in the ICC Test rankings.

''It is not a bad side even without Shoaib (Akhtar), Rana (Naved-ul-Hasan), Mohammad (Asif), Younis Khan and (Shoaib) Malik.

Once these guys comeback they would be a terrific team,'' Gatting said.

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