Back to His Old Tricks: The Rawalpindi Express, Shoaib Akhtar, is not so rusty after all!
Shoaib Akhtar, also known as the ‘Rawalpindi Express’, is one of the fastest bowlers of all time in the game of cricket. Born on August 13, 1975 in Rawalpindi, the cricketer is now 35 years old. That’s not such an old age for a
senior cricketer playing these days, but it is old for a fast bowler and that too one as quick as Shoaib. He appeared on the scene during his international debut against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 in 1997 at Rawalpindi. Since then, he has been part of the national
cricket team of Pakistan. He remained in and out of the team during this period mainly due to injury problems, which always goes hand-in-hand with the express pace and that too like that of Shoaib’s. He enjoys the honour of dismissing 178 batsmen in Test cricket
and 235 batsmen in ODIs. He has also been impressive in the newer and shorter format of the game, namely T20 cricket, in which he has 12 wickets to his record. Due to his age and fitness problems, he is now considered to be a One-Day or T20 bowler rather than
a Test match bowler. The reason is simple: a Test match requires more fitness and stamina which at this age cannot be managed with the speed and pace of Shoaib Akhtar.
In the last couple of years, Pakistan cricket has been flooded with talented new fast bowlers pressing the old ones to the wall. Shoaib, along with his other counterparts, has also been affected and has remained out of the team
in recent times. Injuries also forced him to stay away from the game. Some critics and analysts were of the view that the Rawalpindi Express has completed his life in international cricket and there is a bleak chance of him making a successful comeback to
the game. But time and tide both went his way and he made a comeback in the 2010 Asia Cup held in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758. After a shameful defeat to the Australians, the selectors once again gave him a chance to show his strength. This was the turning point and Akhtar
was again on the main railroads of international cricket.
In the Asia Cup he was impressive and economical. After the Asia Cup, the team went to England to play a neutral series against the Australians followed by the series against the English side. Shoaib was part of the side for the
shorter format. Though in the two T20s against the Australians he didn’t take that many wickets, he was impressive and proved that he is still in business. Shoaib appeared again in the T20s against the English side, where controversies surrounded the Pakistani
camp. Shoaib, with his express pace, took 3 wickets in two T20s, good enough for the shorter pattern. The T20s were followed by ODIs in which he was impressive, taking 8 wickets and 3 each in the last two games showing an impressive improvement and reminding
cricket pundits of his early years.
And Then Came Controversy: When the last ODI between the two countries ended, in which England won the match and the highly controversial series, it was not over for Shoaib and Pakistan. Just a few hours later,
news of ball tampering by the Rawalpindi Express flooded the media. According to reports, one of the local newspapers in Britain have accused the pace man Shoaib Akhtar of ball tampering in the 41st over of the English innings, in which he was bowling
to Paul Collingwood. According to the newspaper, Shoaib allegedly tampered the ball by rubbing his thumbnail near the seam of the ball followed by making it fall on the ground and rubbing it under his spikes. The allegation yet has to be confirmed by the match
referee and ICC. Although it is not that serious, it may still have an impact on the bowler who has returned to cricket after a long break. This might affect his career as well. On the other hand, the Pakistani media has termed it as demoralizing tactics by
the English media in order to pressurize the touring country. Whatever the implications and results of this may be, it surely shows that Shoaib Akhtar is back to cricketing business and the media, along with critics, are keeping an eye on him.
His recent performances in the series against England have confirmed him as a member of the national side for the upcoming tours against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 that are set to take place by the end of this year. All eyes
would be on him; if he performs it simply means Pakistan is performing. Both http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 and Shoaib Akhtar have a great following in the cricketing world. It could easily be evaluated by the roar that is made by the spectators when the Rawalpindi Express steams
in to deliver a ball. Shoaib Akhtar has always been the centre of attention for all the reasons (both right and
wrong). However, ball tampering or no ball tampering, there is no doubt that he is one of the greatest bowlers of all time.
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