Pakistan cricket was scarred by match-fixing scandals in the 1990s.
Shoaib Akhtar feels MS Dhoni dragged his career; asks him to retire with dignity
Pakistan cricket was scarred by match-fixing scandals in the 1990s but Akhtar said he was never approached for any misdeed. The Rawalpindi Express went on to add that he would have killed Wasim Akram if the latter had asked him to fix matches.
"I was watching few matches of the 1990s and I was amazed to see how Wasim Akram got Pakistan through impossible situations with his brilliant bowling," Cricket Pakistan quoted Akhtar as saying during a television show.
"I will say it very clearly that if Wasim Akram had asked me to do match-fixing, I would have destroyed him or even kill him. But he never said such a thing to me," he added.
Shoaib, who represented Pakistan in 46 Tests, 163 ODIs and 15 T20Is from 1997 to 2011, also thanked Akram for supporting him during the early days of his cricketing career.
"I played with him for seven to eight years and I can quote many instances where he gave me cover by taking the responsibility of picking up the top-order wickets while leaving the tail-enders for me. He even let me bowl from my preferred bowling even though he had a lot more wickets that I did," the 44-year-old remarked.
Despite being an injury-prone fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar scripted many memorable victories for his country in Tests and ODIs. He claimed 178 wickets at a remarkable average of 25.69 with 12 fifers in red-ball cricket, while his record in the 50-over format reads – 247 scalps at 24.97 including four five-wicket hauls.
(With IANS inputs)