http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shoaib-Akhtar-c90080 – The rise and fall of a Pakistani legend - Part 3
Continued from: Shoaib Aktar – The rise and fall of a Pakistani legend – Part 2
These commendable performances raised his hopes for his place in the world cup squad which was to be played in 2011. Before the mega event, he led the Pakistan bowling attack against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 in a one-day series, where he performed exceptionally well.
Before the world cup, Akhtar had already announced that this was going to be his last appearance in the mega event and he will seek retirement afterwards.
He expressed his desire to help his national side win the 2011 World Cup in the absence of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625) for their involvement in spot-fixing during Pakistan’s
tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013, in the summer of 2010.
The 35-year-old Akhtar bowled exceptionally well against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Denagamage-Proboth-Mahela-de-Silva-Jayawardene-c53546, and helped his side win the crucial game.
However, after receiving a fierce beating by the hands of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/LRPL-Taylor-c1849 in Pakistan’s Group A match, Akhtar was discarded for the remainder of the tournament, being blamed for Pakistan’s defeat in the fixture.
What needs to be remembered is the fact that wicketkeeper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Taylor-c92915 twice in the same over of Akhtar, and it is rumoured that after the innings, Akhtar had a heated argument with Kamran over his distasteful show behind the stumps.
There were reports of Akhtar getting physical with Akmal and the team management had to intervene to dislodge the two.
Nonetheless, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 and then went on to the semi-final.
Akhtar however, was not recalled and also missed Pakistan’s last group match against the mighty opponents http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746, which was won by the Afridi-led side.
Dejected and heartbroken, the fast bowler announced his retirement during the world cup as he felt that he will not be asked to ever play for Pakistan in the remaining matches of the tournament.
For a fast bowler, he certainly did not play too http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gordon-Muchall-c1499, but still took 178 wickets in 46 Test matches, while in 163 ODIs he scalped 247 victims.
Akhtar was surely a crowd puller with cricket fans from all-over the world, who loved to watch him in action against the mightiest of oppositions. His bone crushing deliveries were a nightmare for batsmen all over the world.
His fans had hoped to see him ramming his fast deliveries into batsmen once again, in the upcoming Sri Lankan Premier League.
However, sadly the pacer announced that he will not be featuring in the tournament as he was no longer interested in professional cricket anymore. According to him, he has had enough of cricket and is focusing on other things in life.
With this, the Rawalpindi Express has finally reached the final stop, nonetheless, he will always be remember as a legend in the history of cricket for all times to come.
The world of cricket has rarely seen such phenomenal sportsmen, who defy all odds to reach the highest level and leave the rest of the world mesmerized by their achievements. A country which has a history of producing fast bowlers, should be proud of Akhtar’s
contribution to cricket.
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