There are many fast bowlers in the history of cricket who have impressed everyone with their skills. But whenever there is talk of fastest running, Shoaib Akhtar’s name always tops the list. The Pakistan cricket team has a legacy of fast bowlers and Akhtar is one of them.
Shoaib Akhtar, popularly known as the Rawalpindi Express, was one such bowler who had a habit of giving nightmares to the opposing batsmen. Many greats of his time have termed him as the most brutal bowler of all time.
A batsman needed courage to deal with his nose high bouncers and toe crushing yorkers. Akhtar also holds the record for the fastest delivery in international cricket with a speed of 161.3 km/h. World Cup 2003 match against England, against opener Nick Knight.
In a conversation with Sportskeeda, Akhtar opened up about his love for fast bowling. The fast bowler said that he enjoyed watching the batsmen struggle against their pace or jump to play the short ball.
He said, ‘I bowled bouncers because it was nice to see the batsmen jumping like monkeys. Not going to lie, I wanted to hit the batsmen on the head because I had the pace. That’s the advantage of being a fast bowler, it just has to be,” Akhtar told Sportskeeda.
The former Pakistan pacer further said that he always wanted to ‘hit the body’ of the batsmen so that whenever they looked in the mirror, they would remember Akhtar.
“There is adrenaline rush, hair is flying, heart beat is 185+, you definitely will not bowl fuller. It should hit the body, aalu dikhe jism pe (Swelling should be visible on the body). Whenever a batsman sees himself in the mirror, I must remember. This is true love,” he said.
Akhtar’s illustrious career was also affected by injuries but he never compromised on pace. With 147 wickets in 163 ODIs, he retired from international cricket in 2011, after playing the World Cup in India.
By the time T20 came into the scene, he was on the cusp of his career, but still, he managed to pick up 19 wickets in 15 matches.
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