Srinagar, Aug 20: During his playing days he was known for his extreme pace and acuracy that were enough to hurt top level batsman in the World. After hanging his boots he is known for holding nothing back when it comes speak about cricket and the persons involved. We are talking about former Pakistan pacer Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar .
Recently during a conversation with Pakistani presenter Sawera Pasha on her Youtube show ‘Cric Cast’, Akhtar revealed various anecdotes from his playing career related to his bouncers and hurting batsman.
Sawera Pasha asked Shoaib if there were any batsmen who told him to get them out but not hit them. To this Shoaib Akhtar named Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan and Indian tailenders.
“There were many who told me not to hit them. Muralitharan was one. Many Indian tailenders would tell me ‘don’t hit us, we have families’. Muralitharan would ask me to bowl slow, and he would get out.
“Yousuf would ask me to hit him. He would say ‘break his fingers I can’t play his spin’. I bowled Muralitharan a few bouncers but he said ‘don’t do this to me I will die if the ball hits me’, the former paceman said with a smile on his face.
Akhtar also went on to talk about the incident when his bouncer hit the former South Africa opener Gary Kirsten on his left eye.
“I had told Gary not to attempt the pull against me. I kept telling him don’t try it against the world’s fastest bowler. But he didn’t listen and was hit really hard. Whenever he meets me he points towards his eye,” he said.