Published 11:49 IST, December 18th 2020
Shoaib Akhtar shares own experience after Amir retires; also claims ill-treatment by PCB
Shoaib Akhtar admitted that he was ill-treated by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after premier pacer Mohammad Amir announced his retirement from int'l cricket
- SportFit
- 3 min read
Former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar has admitted that even he was harassed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management, after premier pacer Mohammad Amir had announced his retirement from international cricket. Akhtar's remarks came after the 28-year old had said that he does not think he can work with the current team management and it is best for him to leave.
'I was harassed but...': Shoaib Akhtar
"I openly say that I was not treated well during the 2011 World Cup, not by Afridi but by the rest of the management. I am saying it openly. I was harassed but I didn't care as I had already announced my retirement," Akhtar said on his YouTube channel.
"Amir should have bowled well and improved his performance so that no one could remove him from the team. You have to face your fears and you must confront management but by performing," he added.
Mohammad Amir's cricketing career
Amir has represented Pakistan in 36 Tests where he picked up 119 scalps in his 10-year Test career from 2009-2019. The left-arm pacer has also represented the Men In Green in 61 One Day Internationals and 48 T20Is where he has picked up 81 and 59 wickets respectively.
The premier quickie had announced his retirement from red-ball cricket at the age of 27 after which he had faced a lot of criticism from his countrymen as well as legendary pacers Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar. His most memorable performance was picking up three important wickets in the ICC Champions Trophy final against arch-rivals India where his opening spell proved to be too much for the Indian batsmen to handle in that summit clash.
Chasing a huge target of 339 to retain their title, the Men In Blue's top-order including the likes of Rohit Sharma, skipper Virat Kohli, and Shikhar Dhawan were sent back to the pavilion early on as India never recovered from the initial setback and were eventually bundled out for 158. Pakistan registered a mammoth 180-run win to win their maiden CT title.
Shoaib Akhtar's cricketing career
Akhtar has represented Pakistan in 46 Tests, 163 One Day Internationals and, 15 T20Is from 1997 to 2011. The 'Rawalpindi Express' has picked up 178, 247, and, 19 scalps in all three formats respectively.
The iconic speedster is recognized as the fastest bowler in the history of cricket, delivering a world record top speed of 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) in a pool match against England during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He called it a day in 2011 after Pakistan were ousted from World Cup 2011 by losing the semi-final against arch-rivals and eventual winners India at Mohali.
Ever since his retirement, the 'Rawalpindi Express' has found success as a commentator and as a cricket pundit. Shoaib has his own Youtube channel where he can be seen analysing the game on a regular basis.
(With ANI Inputs)
Updated 11:49 IST, December 18th 2020