Indian batting legend Virender Sehwag, who is known for his bold opinion, has called out former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for his bowling action. Shoaib Akhtar, who is fondly called the Rawalpindi Express because of his raw pace, is still the fastest bowler in the world.
Speaking on the third episode of Home of Heroes, Sports18 newest offering, Sehwag called out Akhtar for his bowling action. He said: “Shoaib knows he used to jerk his elbow; he knew he was chucking too. Why would ICC ban him otherwise?”
For the unversed, in 1999, Akhtar was banned for ‘throwing’ for a month and later he returned with a new bowling action. At that time Akhtar had said that he was totally shocked by the ban. He had said: “They won’t give me a definite word as to what is wrong with me. They’ve just told me to remodel my action.” Later, in 2001, Akhtar was banned again for illegal bowling action for the second time.
Further, Virender Sehwag compared the bowling action of Shoaib Akhtar to Australia’s Brett Lee and New Zealand’s Shane Bond. Sehwag accepted that it was tough to pick the ball from the Pakistani bowler. Speaking about them, he said:
“Brett Lee’s hand came down straight, so it was easy to pick the ball. But with Shoaib, you could never guess where the hand and the ball will come from,”
He added:
“I never feared facing Brett Lee, but with Shoaib, I could not trust what he would do if I hit him twice to the fence. Maybe a beamer or a toe-crushing yorker,”
Virender Sehwag, who is hailed as one of the most destructive batters to have played for the Indian cricket team, also revealed the name of the toughest fast bowler he had faced. And it’s Shane Bond. He said:
“His deliveries would come swinging into your body, even if he bowled outside off stump,”
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