Pakistani Cricket Players: Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar Biography
Source(Gogle.com.pk)

Shoaib Akhtar is a former professional cricketer who played testes and One Day International matches for the Pakistan national team in ICC organized events. He has been dubbed as The Rawalpindi Express after the place where he was born and he is arguably the fastest bowler the world of cricket has ever seen, easily clocking 150 km/hour on many occasions. He became the first man to bowl a delivery over 100 miles/hour or 161.3 km/hour, which is the fastest delivery ever bowled in the history of cricket against England. Moreover, not only did he achieve a speed of 100 miles/hour on his delivery, he achieved it twice during one single match and that is something that makes him very unique in the world of fast bowlers. His prowess lay in being able to bowl fast and precise Yorkers as well as quick bouncers and these abilities made him one of the greatest as well as most feared bowlers of all time, the likes of which had not been seen in international cricket since the times of Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Jeff Thompson, Dennis Lillie, Malcolm Marshall and the likes – players who depended on raw pace to pick up wickets.

However, Shoaib Akhtar was also a very controversial figure and it followed him wherever he went. It has been said that he was very selfish and not a team man. The Pakistan team management once sent him home from Australia in the middle of a series because of an alleged poor behavior on his part. In 2006, he was perhaps involved in the biggest controversy when WADA found Shoaib Akhtar guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs and the ICC banned him from playing cricket. This ban was however lifted and he returned to the Pakistan national side the following year and almost immediately, got himself banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board or the PCB for fighting with team mate and fellow opening bowler Mohammad Asif during a training session.

He was selected to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders for the inaugural IPL but injuries blighted his season and he played only a handful of matches. Akhtar was so injury prone that he only managed to play a total of 46 tests and 163 One Day Internationals in his 12 year international career, taking a total of 425 wickets in all. Shoaib Akhtar, in spite of all his short comings, is truly a legend of the game and no matter what happens, cricket will always remember this flamboyant star.MUMBAI: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram on Saturday ridiculed Shoaib Akhtar and his controversial biography, which has made several tall claims, saying the pacer was a "problem" when he was an active player and remains just that even in retirement.

Akram pooh-poohed Shoaib's claims of making Sachin Tendulkar uncomfortable with his pace in the Faisalabad Test in 2006 and also rejected some of the other allegations he has made in the book titled 'Controversially Yours'.

"I remember Sachin's one innings when he was 16 and touring Pakistan. Sialkot Test was Sachin's 4th Test. He made his debut in that series. There was a lot of grass on the pitch. Waqar and I bowled very fast. Waqar, I think, was 19 and Sachin was 16.

"Waqar hit him (Sachin) on the helmet just below the chin and he got hurt. But he put a plaster and he came back to score a 50. If a 16-year-old kid wasn't scared, I don't think any of the top batsmen in the world is scared of any bowler," Akram told reporters on the sidelines of International Sports Summit here.

"Maybe he might play on the back foot to block the delivery or maybe he might just see it off. But I don't think a player like Sachin can get scared of any bowler. He (Shoaib) can write anything to sell a book, but it does not affect me or Sachin," the former left-arm paceman maintained.

On Akhtar's allegation's that he was responsible for destroying the former's career, Akram said no one but the 'Rawalpindi Express' himself was responsible for it.

"I know, Shoaib knows and the entire world knows that he himself is responsible for destroying his career. Nobody helped him (in destroying his career)."

"Whatever PCB ( Pakistan Cricket Board) has told the press I agree with that. I am with PCB (on Shoaib). They have said about Shoaib being a problem when he was in team and even now when he is not in the team," stated Akram, one of the most successful Pakistani cricketers of all time.

"I was the one who made him (Shoaib) play. But I don't want to go to his level. There is an unwritten contract for sportsmen that you do not tell the personal details of others to the press. So some people are different. I am different from him. It does not bother me. He can go on saying whatever he wants," the 45-year-old former speedster said.

"There is no point in me talking about his book. I still haven't read his book. But his idea is good. If the books get sold then good luck to him," said Akram, adding, "You people (media) will ensure his book is a bestseller."

On India's disastrous tour of England, the sultan of swing said while the team's batting failures could be blamed on injuries, not playing rookie pacer Varun Aaron, who has done well in the Emerging Players series Down Under, was inexcusable.

"Indian bowling struggled during the England tour. I was commentating throughout the series. In batting there were a lot of injuries and rightly so because Indian team is a human team. They were playing for a long time. Fair enough.

"In bowling if you see, a youngster like Varun Aaron, who I think is ready to play for India, was sitting out throughout the tour. But you did not play him for the five (ODI) matches. You groom a bowler. If you give him a chance against England in India, then there is a flat wicket over here. He will get hit and his confidence will get affected. He did well against Australia with the Emerging side (India A)."

"Jaidev (Unadkat) is there, Umesh Yadav... are other young bowlers who have some pace. There are two-three more bowlers. I will talk about them when they start playing. The idea is to play them," Akram said.

"You can't have them playing for just 3-4 seasons. They will retire after three seasons after bowling on these slow wickets. So the idea is to play them when they have the pace and energy in them," Akram said.

The former paceman, who has taken 414 Test and 501 ODI wickets, said Indian bowlers themselves were responsible for losing pace soon after debut.

"I have travelled with the Indian cricket team and have tried to improve their game. A lot of them ask me why they lose pace. I think the player himself is responsible for that.

"If I am a 25-year old bowler, then I should know that a year ago I was bowling at 145 kmph and now it is 125 kmph. I have to think what is it that I am doing wrong. Cricket is a simple game but people (foreign coaches) who have come from outside have complicated things," Akram said.

"The more you bowl the better you get. The more you bowl in the nets, the stronger your fast bowling muscles get and your pace increases. Now there is a new system that a bowler cannot bowl more than two overs (in the nets). If you bowl for two overs in nets and spend two hours in the gym, the muscles will improve not your bowling," he added.

Stating that the Indian bowling attack relied heavily on left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan, Akram said the team will have to get used to doing well without him.

"There is too much over-dependence on some bowlers. Now Zaheer is not (in the team) for four months. You have to survive without him. You have to prepare bowlers and give them confidence without his support."

"I used to go to Richard Hadlee, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, and ask them how to in-swing and outswing. You have to create awareness on your own. You will not learn anything sitting in a room," he added.

Akram felt India should let the senior players continue as long as they were doing well.

"Seniors are bound to leave. Sachin is playing well. Rahul was the best in England. If they want to play, they should play.

"Youngsters should learn from such role models. Rohit (Sharma), Virat (Kohli), Suresh (Raina) should learn what is the work ethics of Sachin and Dravid. Their (youngsters) ultimate goal should be Test cricket. If a player plays well in Tests, then one-day cricket and 20-20 will follow. If you play 20-20 and then go for Test then it won't work," he said.

Akram said India should be mentally prepared to play on bouncy pitches during their upcoming tour of Australia.

"The (next) big tour (after England) for you is Australia, and let me tell you Australia will be a very tough series for India. Different wickets and bouncy tracks. I have a firm belief Australia will make nice bouncy wickets."

Akram also called for resumption of sporting ties between India and Pakistan. "India and Pakistan should play against each other. When I used to play against India in a Test or one-day, the pressure was very high.

Shoaib Akhtar