Shoaib Akhtar Revealed Why He Wanted To Punch Mohammad Kaif

Shoaib Akhtar Revealed Why He Wanted To Punch Mohammad Kaif: The inaugural edition of Legends League Cricket kick-started on Thursday at the Al Amerat Cricket Ground (Ministry Turf 1) in Oman. Several former international cricketers, including those from India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, and England are participating in this tournament.

The tournament opener was between India Maharajas, captained by Mohammad Kaif, against the Asian Lions, led by Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq. The third team in the competition is World Giants, whose captain is West Indies’ Daren Sammy.

After the first game of the season on Thursday, Shoaib Akhtar, bowling for the Asian Lions, revealed that he wanted to punch Mohammad Kaif, the opposition’s captain during their in-game battle.

One of the fastest-ever bowlers, Shoaib Akhtar, 47, is coming off knee surgery but still remained accurate in his line and length and was smart with the change of pace. He returned with brilliant figures of 1/24 in 4 overs but couldn’t save his side from defeat.

He did have an interesting battle with Kaif during the India Maharajas’ innings. While he may not have the high pace, Shoaib Akhtar was not down on intensity at all. When Kaif took a couple of steps down to charge at the speedster, Akhtar dug the ball in and sent a sharp short ball to which Kaif couldn’t connect his shot and saw it rocket past his nose.

This reminded fans of Kaif dismissal off Akhtar way back in 2003 when the batsman had edged a short ball to the wicket-keeper after coming down a couple of steps.

Following the match, Akhtar, laughingly, stated in a post-match interview that he had jokingly warned Kaif many times not to walk towards him and felt like “punching” the former India batsman then.

“He is walking towards me again. I just feel like punching him,” Akhtar said as he breaks into laughter. I have told him [Kaif] many-a-times on television to not walk on him but he did it again,” the Rawalpindi Express said.

Here, check out how the events transpired and then Shoaib Akhtar speaking:

Things that never changed
2004 2022 @MohammadKaif walking towards @shoaib100mph ?#Cricket #LegendsLeagueCricket pic.twitter.com/70E3ZfBJ7Z

— Mustafa Abid (@mmustafa_abid) January 20, 2022

But, the camaraderie and the friendship between the two players across the border was visible when both shared a light-hearted moment. The fast bowler hugged Kaif in a brotherly style and both shared a big laugh.

Here’s the video:

Shoaib Akhtar sharing a light moment with Mohammad Kaif after the Over. pic.twitter.com/KzlIOLUQXi

— Taimoor Zaman (@taimoorze) January 20, 2022