Former Pakistan fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar recently recalled a day when he along with Shahid Afridi were planning to dismiss former Indian skipper, Rahul Dravid early as they wanted to enjoy their Friday night. Shoaib explained that the batting legend, Sachin Tendulkar was not playing in the match and India had lost quick wickets in the match.
It was then Afridi asked the pacer to bowl some special delivery and dismiss the Indian ‘Wall’. Shoiab had almost managed to get to dismiss Dravid when one of his delivery hit the former Karnataka batsman’s pads, but it was unsuccessful in the attempt.
During a recent cat with former Indian opener, Aakash Chopra, Shoaib said, “If a batsman used to play, like Rahul Dravid, we would bowl him length balls. From close to the stump we would aim the gap between bat and pad, try hit the ball on the pad. There was a final match in Bangalore, I had dismissed Sadagoppan Ramesh early, we took 3-4 wickets early.”
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He further added, “Shahid Afridi and I said Rahul Dravid will take a lot of time and it’s Friday night today. Afridi said bowl something and take his wicket else he will play for long. I hit him directly on the pad and urged umpire to raise his fingers. I even said it’s our Friday night. He did not give the decision in our favor but we had won in the end. Dravid was a difficult and determined batsman. He would play against me easily.”
In the 1999 Pepsi Cup final match in Bangalore, under the captaincy of Ajay Jadeja, India suffered a loss against Pakistan by 123 runs. Shoaib Akhtar had claimed two wickets in the match. During the chat, he also expressed that in the current crop of pacers, Pat Cummins has emerged as an asset for Australia. Akhtar raised his concern over the future of the English pacer Jofra Archer.
When asked about India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, Akhtar said he had some idea about the back injury of Bumrah. He added that Bumrah has a difficult action and playing across the formats will be difficult for him.
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Akhtar explained, “There is a peak time for bowlers when they get 2-3 years where they can 100-150 wickets, then the bowler is bound to face a breakdown. Jofra Archer’s pace is not going above 140 kmph, Pat Cummins is an asset but Jofra Archer, I don’t think will last. Jasprit Bumrah has a difficult action, he can’t play in all formats. It’s his courage that he came and showed skill in Test cricket People used to say that he has a small run-up but I said he will break.”
