Shoaib Akhtar was among the few cricketers from Pakistan to have appeared in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Fondly known as the Rawalpindi Express, Akhtar turned up for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the inaugural edition of the T20 tournament.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Shoaib recently shared memories from his KKR stint and also recalled how he won the hearts of the Kolkata crowd, who had once disliked him for getting Sachin Tendulkar out for a duck in a Test match in 1999.
Notably, Akhtar had bowled Tendulkar on the very first delivery with a ferocious yorker after dismissing Rahul Dravid a ball earlier. He was also involved in Sachin’s run-out dismissal in the second innings as Pakistan registered a famous 46-run victory in that Test match.
"Look, my relationship with Kolkata was a bit weird at first but came close later. It was weird at first because when I dismissed Sachin on the first ball and then was involved in his run-out, Kolkata hated me," Shoaib Akhtar said.
Nine years later, Akhtar got the opportunity to represent KKR in the inaugural IPL season. He made his debut in a game against Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) and returned with the remarkable figures of 4 for 11.
"I really liked the way Kolkata responded (during IPL). The whole of Bengal was chanting my name and Shahrukh was dancing. I couldn't believe this was the same Kolkata who had thrown bricks at me and now love me so much. Eden Gardens is one of my favourite grounds and that formed a bond which is strong till date," he said.
"When I returned to Kolkata to play for Shahrukh Khan's team, people knew that I was coming back from a ban and that I hadn't trained and I was unfit. Only 132 (134) runs were needed (for the opponent) to win. But I ran-in really hard and stretched myself a lot. Everyone saw the effort and I finally felt that I had repaid the loan of Kolkata of that day when I dismissed Sachin and run him out. It developed a strong bond between us."
Shoaib Akhtar played only three games for KKR in the IPL 2008 season, claiming five wickets at an economy rate of 7.71.
