Babar recalled an amusing incident from his teens involving the former Pakistan quick.
On 'Cricbuzz in Conversation' with Harsha Bhogle, Babar recalled an incident from his teens where his eagerness to play the drive rubbed the dangerously quick Shoaib Akhtar the wrong way.
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"I was always keen on batting. I was a ball boy during a series between Pakistan and South Africa. That was the first time I saw Shoaib Akhtar in action. The run-up, the pace, it was quite something," he said.
"I remember, there was a camp for the emerging players or Pakistan A. That time, they would even call some of us from the Under-15 team to practice with them. Mudassar Nazar, who was there, would call us to bat first. We were asked to bat first so that the bowlers could warm up and understand their paces."
It was a good learning experience for the kids, Babar included, as they got the chance to feel what it is like facing international bowlers and test their level of skill at that age. But then Akhtar arrived one day.
"Shoaib Akhtar would come there at times, towards the end of the camp to bowl for a bit," reminisced Babar. "One day, he asked for a batsman to bowl at and Mudassar bhai asked him to take me along with him. So I got ready and was quite excited. Shoaib told me, 'Kid, I will pitch the ball full, just block it, don't drive'. I said okay. I blocked the first two balls but drove the third one."
"I kept doing that - block two balls and drive the third one. He was like, 'Get me a new ball, I will show him'. Immediately, Mudassar bhai told me, 'get out of the nets or he will kill you'. He took me out of the nets," he added.
"However, whenever he would come to the nets thereafter, he would ask me to come and face him. He would bowl full but once, by mistake, he bowled a bouncer and luckily the ball went over my head."
(Inputs from Cricbuzz)