Jumbo Editorial Team
The recently launched autobiography of Pakistan’s retired fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, appropriately titled Controversially Yours, has touched upon subjects that are certain to make headline news. The cricket lovers have another topic to debate now.
Shoaib, who spearheaded Pakistan’s pace attack for quite sometime, has attempted to ridicule two of the greatest batsmen of his era, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, whose talents and skills with the bat didn’t impress the speedster.
“I think players like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid weren’t exactly match winners to start with, nor did they know the art of finishing the game,” Shoaib wrote.
“Vivian Richards, Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara and the likes of them are great batsmen who dominated with the bat and were truly match winners. Initially when I bowled to Sachin I found these qualities missing. He might have had more runs and records, he lacked the ability to finish the game,” the outspoken speedster reckoned.
“We would have faced a humbling defeat in the series but for the fact that we reined in Sachin Tendulkar. What went in our favour was that he was suffering from tennis elbow. This severely handicapped the great batsman. We managed to psychologically browbeat him,” Shoaib, having cleaned the Indian Grand Master on a few occasions, observed.
“We bounced the ball at him and were able to unnerve him. I returned to the dressing room that first day with the knowledge that Sachin was not comfortable facing fast and rising ball. He was distinctly uncomfortable against me. That was enough to build on,” he stated.
“I bowled him a particularly fast ball which he, to my amazement didn’t even touch. He walked away! That was the first time I saw him walk from me that too on the slow track of Faisalabad. It got my hunting instincts up in the next match. I hit him on the head and he couldn’t score after that,” Shoaib narrated.
The recently launched autobiography of Pakistan’s retired fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, appropriately titled Controversially Yours, has touched upon subjects that are certain to make headline news. The cricket lovers have another topic to debate now.
Shoaib, who spearheaded Pakistan’s pace attack for quite sometime, has attempted to ridicule two of the greatest batsmen of his era, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, whose talents and skills with the bat didn’t impress the speedster.“I think players like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid weren’t exactly match winners to start with, nor did they know the art of finishing the game,” Shoaib wrote.
“Vivian Richards, Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara and the likes of them are great batsmen who dominated with the bat and were truly match winners. Initially when I bowled to Sachin I found these qualities missing. He might have had more runs and records, he lacked the ability to finish the game,” the outspoken speedster reckoned.
“We would have faced a humbling defeat in the series but for the fact that we reined in Sachin Tendulkar. What went in our favour was that he was suffering from tennis elbow. This severely handicapped the great batsman. We managed to psychologically browbeat him,” Shoaib, having cleaned the Indian Grand Master on a few occasions, observed.
“We bounced the ball at him and were able to unnerve him. I returned to the dressing room that first day with the knowledge that Sachin was not comfortable facing fast and rising ball. He was distinctly uncomfortable against me. That was enough to build on,” he stated.“I bowled him a particularly fast ball which he, to my amazement didn’t even touch. He walked away! That was the first time I saw him walk from me that too on the slow track of Faisalabad. It got my hunting instincts up in the next match. I hit him on the head and he couldn’t score after that,” Shoaib narrated.
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