Tearaway Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar turns 43; ICC, fans greet him on birthday

Along with the ICC, Akhtar's Indian counterparts also wished him the best.

By Shubham Ghosh

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Shoaib Akhtar
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Shoaib Akhtar. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Indian fans still remember with a pinch of discomfort him yorking two of India’s finest batsmen – Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar – in successive balls in a Test match. The ‘Rawalpindi Express’, as Shoaib Akhtar is fondly known, turned 43 on Monday, August 13, and wishes came pouring in for the former Pakistani fast bowler.

Akhtar, who played 444 international matches with 46 Tests, 163 ODIs and 15 T20Is, was a terror during his playing days and was considered a threat to legendary batsmen of his time like Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting. The man is still the fastest bowler of all time as his record of clocking a top speed of 161.3 kmph is yet to be bettered. Those who have gone closer to Akhtar are Australians Shaun Tait (161.1), Brett Lee (161.1), Jeff Thomson (160.6) and Mitchell Starc (160.4).

The International Cricket Council (ICC) came up with a tweet wishing the former bowler, saying: “He’s regarded as the fastest bowler of all time, reaching a top speed of 161.3kmph, and claimed 444 international wickets. Happy birthday to the Rawalpindi Express, @shoaib100mph.”

Akhtar also has a record of hurting the most number of batsmen (18) in the history of the game and that included the likes of Lara and Sourav Ganguly. His rivalry with Tendulkar was an added attraction of India-Pakistan ties and just as Akhtar had packed off the batsman for a golden duck in Kolkata in 1999, the latter also belted the pacer for 18 runs in an over at Centurion in the 2003 World Cup.

Akhtar, who now spends time in training new talents and commentating for the game, also played in the Indian Premier League in one season and had taken 4 wickets for 11 runs for Kolkata Knight Riders against Delhi Daredevils. He took 178 Test and 247 ODI wickets besides 19 T20I wickets between 1997 and 2011.

Akhtar’s 44th birthday also saw his fans coming up with jokes while wishing him. One of his fans said every Pakistani citizen bears a wrong birth date on their identity cards and he hoped the same for the former Pakistani cricketer as well.

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