Known as The Rawalpindi Express in his playing days, former Pakistani bowler Shoaib Akhtar is renowned for being the fastest speedster in international cricket. He is also notorious for his controversial statements especially when it involves neighbors India and Indian cricketers.
He recently talked about his relationship with Indian players Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh.
“I don’t wrestle, it’s my way of showing my affection to other people and I basically crossed the line. When I like someone, I throw them,” Akhtar said while recalling an incident where he once wrestled with the Yuvraj and Harbhajan.
“I broke Yuvraj’s back, have previously broken Shahid Afridi’s rib by hugging him, and I made Abdul Razzaq stretch his hamstring a bit too much. So my way of loving people is a bit wild. It was just me being stupid in my younger days but I never realized my own power,” he said.
Previously, Akhtar had said during a television interview, “We were horsing around and doing some arm wrestling and that was all but Bhajji and Yuvi are my younger brother and there is no question of beating them up.”
Akhtar also admitted to getting into fights with teammates and said, “I got into a fight once or twice in my career but I enjoyed a great relationship with my team. Maybe not the Pakistan Cricket Board, but with my team-mates I had a great time.”
The speedster recalled breaking the 100 mph speed barrier for the first time officially in a 2003 World Cup match against England. Nick Knight was the hapless batsman facing the missile from Akhtar.
“Breaking the 100 mph barrier wasn’t a big deal to me. It was just media hype, an international cricket gimmick. I wasn’t getting paid for this – to break my bones trying to bowl that fast. I just thought ‘For heaven’s sake, I need to finish this and just do it.’ So I planned it all out, I started training for it,” Akhtar said.
“I also used to bowl from 26 yards with something much heavier than a cricket ball. When I came back to the 22 yards, I was about 6km/h (3.7mph) quicker,” he said, revealing that he ran with 170 kg weights on his back and took 20 kg off after every 100 sprints.
(BBC’s Doosra podcast inputs)
