Akhtar narrated a hilarious anecdote from Pakistan's 2004 tour of New Zealand.
Akhtar may have struggled with injuries during his playing days, but he always wore his heart on his sleeve.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, the Rawalpindi Express recently narrated a hilarious anecdote from Pakistan's 2004 tour of New Zealand when he went for bungee jumping despite being advised to rest by the team management.
“I remember during the 2004 tour of New Zealand, the management asked me to rest as I was injured. I was clearly instructed not to do anything that would hurt my chances of playing matches during the tour," Akhtar said.
“As soon as everyone left for the official dinner, I booked a helicopter and headed out for bungee jumping, ignoring the fact that I had been hit on the groin by a ball. As expected, I was in pain after the exercise!" he added.
Shoaib Akhtar also recalled how he was slapped with a heavy fine for his adventurous activities.
"In fact, during the birthdays, friends tell me: 'we will take you for feeding sharks as your birthday gift'. So I was feeding great white sharks in the deep sea ocean. My legs were shivering, as the sharks were 15-20 feet long."
"In Queensland, I went white-water rafting alone. It was risky but I survived the experience. When the management came to know about my activities, I was slapped with a heavy fine," he said.
Akhtar, who breached the speed of 100 miles per hour mark on quite a few occasions, rued that the Pakistan team management didn't use him efficiently.
“During my playing days, a break used to always rejuvenate me. But the team management did not understand me. Even at the first-class level, the story was the same.
"During the match or at practice, I always used to bowl from my full run-up. I have approximately covered thrice the distance of earth’s circumference only by running. The management should have been more careful and played me in only three of the five ODIs during a series," he explained.