Former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar may have never hit the heights of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, but he became arguably the most fearsome bowler in cricket history, thanks to his frightening speed.
Talking about his international career during a chat with Khaleej Times, Akhtar said, “You know when I first came to international cricket, it wasn’t easy even for someone like Sachin to play me because I was bowling so quick. When I first played international cricket, Sachin was in his 10th year in international cricket and he had to face me, Glenn McGrath, Wasim, Waqar. But he still went on to score many more hundreds to become the only player to score 100 international centuries. That showed the ability of the man.”
Akhtar grew up idolizing Waqar Younis then predicted that Indian skipper Virat Kohli has the ability to break his idol Tendulkar’s record of 100 international centuries. He said, “Virat Kohli is a modern-day great. When it comes to run chases, no one has ever shown a better understanding of pacing innings. Yes, he has 50 international centuries now. I think he is the only player who can break Tendulkar’s record. But there is no pressure on him. He should just go out there and enjoy the game. He should just look after himself.”
He further added, “If Misbah-ul-Haq can play until 43, I am sure Virat can play until he is 44. If he plays that long and if he continues to score the way he is doing now, I have no doubt that he is the only one who can do it. In fact, he can hit 120 centuries.”
Sharing his first look of Kohli, Shoaib said, “It would have been great if I had played against him a bit more. Unfortunately he was too young towards the end of my career. He only faced one ball from me in Sri Lanka. I was struggling with my knee. Then I remember this young kid with a lot of tattoos in his arm who was shuffling around the crease. But he had a spark and we all discussed about it in the Pakistan dressing room.”
Akhtar concluded by calling Virat a great gentleman, he said, “Even in matches, we must always show respect. It’s fine to lose a game. Hats off to Kohli who went to the Pakistan dressing room after the Champions Trophy final and congratulated our players. He spoke very highly of the Pakistan team. You know he is not only a great cricketer, he is a great ambassador for India as well.”
