Rise & Fall of Pakistan Cricket Fast Bowler Shoaib Akhtar “Rawalpindi Express”
Shoaib Akhtar popularly known as the “Rawalpindi Express” was born on 13th August, 1975. He was born at Morgah, a small village near Rawalpindi. Akhtar, regarded as one of the fastest bowlers the cricketing world has seen, had an extremely long run up and at a phenomenal pace.
Shoaib set the world record for the fastest baller by clocking in at 161.3kph (100.2mph) twice at a match. He was fierce, witty, and boasted a lot of attitude. He had extreme pace, and he knew it and made sure the whole world knew it too.
Akhtar’s impressive run and inevitable decline started in the 1990’s. He was dropped from the squad for the Sahara Cup against India. Thus, his International debut was postponed for a year due to indiscipline and poor attitude. Touring the West Indies with Pakistan A, he was impressive but was cited for indiscipline by the manager. Finally, making his International debut in November of 1997 he took two wickets in the second test against West Indies.
In March 1998 Pakistan’s first ever Test win against South Africa was all Shoaib’s efforts. A 5-43 bowling performance had his opponents in all sorts of trouble. During a test series against India in 1999 Shoaib was once again the focal point. He took 8 wickets in that match including those of Indian batsmen Rahul Dravid and the, “Little Master”, Sachin Tendulkar. This was followed by outstanding wicket taking streaks in Sharjah, and the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
Akhtar has also represented 3 English County Cricket Clubs, Somerset in 2001, Durham in 2003 and 2004 and Worcestershire in 2005. During his County tenure he faced a lot of fitness problems and the impression that he gave was more of a superstar than a cricketer. This particularly was the case at Worcestershire where Chairman John Elliot said “Players like that are no good to our club. In fact, Akhtar has been no good for any club he's been at. He's a superstar and just does what he wants."
From 2004-2006 he rediscovered his talent. Playing a three Test home series against England, he finished off bagging 17 wickets. He sent out a message to his critics that he knew how to use the slower ball to his advantage and bowl smartly.
The strike bowler had been involved in numerous indictments. Poor performance and a verbal conflict with former Pakistan captain and fast bowler Waqar Younis resulted in his sacking from the national team after the 2003 World Cup. He was caught tampering the ball in 2003 during a Triangular series held in Sri Lanka. Shoaib became the second player in the history of International Cricket to be banned for ball tampering. The same year he was banned for one Test match and two One Day Internationals for abusing South African spin bowler, Paul Adams. Akhtar also struggled with back and wrist injuries during the home series against India in 2004. By this time people had started questioning his commitment to the game, Akhtar’s relationship with the captain and coach was in turmoil. A hamstring injury amid rumours of indiscipline saw him on his way back to Pakistan from the 2005 Australian Tour. The rest of his career was challenged with knee and ankle injuries leading to a surgery in February, 2006.
On 1st November, 2006, Shoaib Akhtar was banned for two years for using performance boosters. However, he was acquitted, on 5th December 2006, by the tribunal appointed to review his appeal after a clear hearing from Akhtar’s Lawyer, Abid Hassan Minto. World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, challenged PCB’s decision to lift the ban by taking the case to Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. Ultimately, on 2 July, 2007 the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled, it had no authority to challenge the decision made by PCB. Akhtar then was banned for 5 matches by the PCB after being rumoured to have hit Pakistani team mate Mohammad Asif a week before the inaugural World T20.
In August, 2007, a fine of Rs. 300,000 was imposed on Akhtar on disciplinary grounds during the national camp in Karachi.
In April, 2008, Akhtar was banned for five years for violating the players' code of conduct on 4th May. Akhtar was allowed to play in the Indian Premier League, IPL, after the PCB’s appellate tribunal suspended the five year ban for a month. The next day PCB announced that the defamation suit will no longer be pursued following reconciliation between Akhtar and Chairman Nasim Ashraf at the house of Rehman Malik, a key political official, in Islamabad.
The British immigration officials sent Akhtar back home on 4th September, 2008, after landing at Heathrow airport without a valid working visa.
On 21 May, 2009, Akhtar was dropped from Pakistan’s World Championship T20 squad. The PCB revealed he had contracted a sexually transmitted disease, genital viral warts, previously reported as a skin infection. He also threatened to sue the PCB after it was revealed.
A veteran of 46 Tests and 144 ODIs, Akhtar, 34, had his flamboyant nature and reckless attitude amidst a lot of controversies throughout his career. The controversies and scandals had plagued his reputation so badly that whatever he did on the field was overshadowed by his scrapes off the field. For any sportsman, that is an uncomplimentary reflection one that seems to be damaged in the world of sports perhaps forever.
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