Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has backed ex-teammate Shahid Afridi’s claims of receiving harsh treatment from senior cricketers during his playing days.

In his just-released autobiography 'Game Changer', Afridi has shared quite a few anecdotes of him facing the wrath of senior Pakistani players. Citing one example, he said former Pakistan coach Javed Miandad did not let him participate in the batting practice session before the Chennai Test against India in 1999.

Supporting Afridi's allegations, Akhtar said he too was treated harshly by certain senior players during his playing days.

"I think Shahid Afridi has written less in his book about the harsh treatment he received from senior players during his playing days. I witnessed some of it with my own eyes and totally agree with him," The Express Tribune quoted Akhtar as saying while speaking during a show on a local sports channel.

In his book, Afridi has also written that Miandad once forced him to praise him during the presentation ceremony after which the former all-rounder lost all respect for the great batsman.

While backing Afridi's claims, Akhtar recalled that ten senior players even asked the two of them for forgiveness for their unkind behaviour.

"Later down the years, ten of these senior players asked us for forgiveness, before leaving for Umrah, for the way they treated us," Akhtar said.

Sharing his past experiences, the Rawalpindi Express also revealed that four players were once about to beat him with a bat.

"Once during a tour of Australia, four players approached with the intention of hitting me with a bat," said the 43-year-old.

Written by eminent journalist Wajahat Saeed Khan, Shahid Afridi’s autobiography was launched on April 25. In his book, Afridi has also revealed that his real age was 19 and not 16 when he played his first ODI match for Pakistan.

(With IANS inputs)