Not just a cricketer, but Shoaib Akhtar is a one-of-a-kind person. How do I put it? Maybe like, “What Shane Warne was to spin bowling, Shoaib Akhtar was to fast bowler.”
Both brought something really different to the table than the rest of their teammates; both were heavily involved in controversies – just too much for an international cricketer; both were proper showmen. On or off the field, the spotlight remained on these guys for plenty of reasons other than their game.
Both had careers where injury affected their overall wickets tally – more so in the case of Akhtar than Warne. And both were suspended or banned for, well, disciplinary committee, which is a light word to use, for taking banned substances.
Akhtar took 444 international wickets – something which one might say was still a lot considering the dramas of injuries and tussles with his own board, coaches, and teammates he was involved which could have cut his career even short; some might also say he would have taken plenty more wickets if he had more discipline off the field.
3 reasons why Shoaib Akhtar is not only a great cricketer, but also a great showman of the game:
Pace is pace yaar
It’s been two decades since he created that record – in the 2003 World Cup, Akhtar delivered the fastest international recorded delivery, clocking 161.3km/hr – and his record stands still today. And that is despite the modern science which would help the fast bowlers more and more in pounding the speed gun.
Akhtar was just raw pace. He didn’t give two damn about what anyone would say to him about toning down a bit. He was the only one who suggested India’s Umran Malik to keep up with his pace when everyone else advised the youngster to even compromise on his pace to get more control over his lines and lengths. Not Akhtar.
Diler Attitude
A few years ago, when everyone was at their homes in the pandemic times, Akhtar revealed that he had went on to fight in the Kargil war in 1999, turning down a hefty contract from a County. While this garnered him lot of ridicule by fans, one can imagine Shoaib Akhtar being the only cricketer to go to the border and fight.
Akhtar often talks about the Diler attitude; he bemoans the lack of it among the young fast bowlers these days. Akhtar wants to see more of the aggression and fight from the fast bowlers in the current generation. And one couldn’t blame him for asking the pacers to put their bodies and minds on the line as he used to do.
Frequent Controversies
What’s a career of a Pakistani cricketer of the 90s and 2000s if it didn’t involve any controversy? In fact, that is what grows the legend of Shoaib Akhtar.
From being suspended for taking banned drugs to threatening to sue the PCB for revealing that he had genital viral warts; from being caught doing ball tampering to being reported for suspect action multiple times; and not to forget his frequent quarrels and complains with every coach – Akhtar’s Pakistan career was filled with regular controversies that took time and wickets out of his career.
