One of the finest fast bowlers in cricket history, former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar is renowned for his scary bowling.
He was known as “Rawalpindi Express” while he was playing, and in 2002, against New Zealand, he made the fastest delivery in cricket history, clocking in at 161 kph.
Akhtar recently said that in 2002, he was given the opportunity to lead Pakistan’s national team, but he turned it down because he didn’t think he was physically prepared to do both the bowling and leadership duties at his best.
The instability of the board and the mishandling of the nation, according to Akhtar, were the reasons he refused to be the captain at the time but still backed his comrades.
Akhtar admitted to a local media outlet that “I wasn’t fit enough.” “Of the five matches, I could play three. When I was offered the captaincy in 2002, I would have had to play for only 1.5 to 2 years (if I had participated in every game),” remarked Akhtar.
The board was unsteady as I stood behind my teammates. Everywhere you looked, there was poor management. Pakistan itself had had poor leadership at the time.
Akhtar played in only 46 Tests and 163 ODIs during his career because of numerous ailments. The best batsmen in the game, such as Brian Lara of the West Indies, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid of India, and former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, were all opponents he fought hard against.
