Shoaib Akhtar – a potential, which remained unfulfilled - Opinion
Banned, dropped, banned again, matchwinner, fastest bowler, injured, fighting with teammates and doping are the words usually associated with the former Pakistani speedster, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shoaib-Akhtar-c90080. There is hardly any character in the history of the game, which was
more controversial than the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ but there is barely anyone who was more talented than him either.
When it comes to fast bowling, Pakistan has a rich history of producing high-class cricketers who have ruled the game with tearaway speed and immense control. This is the reason why, Green Shirts have always been a major force in international cricket. Otherwise,
Pakistan’s batsmen have been found wondering many a times on bouncy pitches.
Unlike many legendary cricketers in Pakistan’s history, Akhtar came through the ranks of domestic cricket in the country. The fast bowler made his first-class debut in 1994-95 and represented Rawalpindi, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-International-Airlines-c831 (PIA) and Agriculture
Development Bank of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 (ADBP) in his early days.
He made a name for himself in the domestic circuit because of the additional pace and soon got the attention of the national selectors. The fast bowler was picked for the ‘A’ team tours but had disciplinary issues.
However, his extra-ordinary potential was hard to ignore for the selectors and as a result, ‘Rawalpindi Express’ made his Test debut in the series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 at home. Akhtar got into the limelight of international cricket after a terrific spell
of fast bowling in Kolkata, when the tearaway fast bowler dismissed http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 at its own soil. Since then, Shoaib never looked back and remained
a constant threat for batsmen all over the world for more than a decade.
In the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757, Akhtar became the fastest bowler in the history of the game by breaking the 100 miles per hour barrier.
However, controversies and Shoaib were never separated. In his early years in international cricket, questions were raised about Akhtar’s bowling action. Later, he had troubles maintaining fitness and this stopped him to play more international cricket.
It is quite unfortunate that Shoaib could only play 46 Test matches in his career.
The fast bowler improved his cricketing skills with the passage of time but he failed to improve his discipline. Akhtar always had differences with his captains and coaches, which damaged the team spirit of the Green Shirts.
During the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 Cricket World Cup 2011, Shoaib announced his retirement from international cricket.
In his career, Shoaib troubled almost every international batsman because of his threatening speed. At his retirement, the former Australian captain and one of the best batsmen of the modern-day sport, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RT-Ponting-c2377 praised him in the following words:
"I had some great duels with Shoaib over the years. I always said he is the fastest bowler I have faced in international cricket. There's one spell that everyone can watch on the internet of him bowling to me at the WACA. That was reasonably entertaining
— more so for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Justin-Lee-Langer-c69712, who was at the other end laughing at me all the time when I was trying to keep Shoaib's deliveries out. He was express pace, a very good bowler. Over the years he has had his fair share of injuries that have not allowed him to
play as much as he would have liked," said Ponting.
Shoaib was a genuine match-winner but it is quite sad that he remained a potential unfulfilled.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the author, and do not represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Tags: