The Legend of Cricket: Personal Information

PERSONAL & FAMILY :

Name : Shoaib Akhtar


Born :	13 August 1975 (age 36) Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
Nickname:	Rawalpindi Express
Height:	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Batting style	Right hand bat
Bowling style	Right arm fast
Role	Bowler

Dad's Name : Mohammed
Mother's Name : Hammeda
Brother's Name : Shahid, Jahid & Abaid
Sister's Name : Shamaila

ABOUT HIM :

Height : 6 feet
Zodiac : Leo
Best Habit : Stays Quiet
Worst Habit : Trusts people too quickly
Best Asset :Eyes

FIRST STEP TOWARDS CRICKET :

Shoaib’s entrance in Cricket was not at all planned, infact it was very dramatic. He started playing cricket at the age of ‘20’ and that too with a tennis ball. As per him, he used to play bet-matches where a bet of 200 rupees was put on a match and the winner could take the money. One day just by chance Isthaq Shah, the President of Rawalpindi Real Cricket association was watching the game. He was impressed with Shoaib’s bowling and offered him to play in a Test match against New-Zealand. Shoaib refused initially as he had never played International Cricket nor had he ever played with the real hard cricket ball but Mr. Isthaq forced him and the rest is history. It is quiet difficult to digest but Shoaib Akhtar played with the actual cricket ball in his very first international cricket match.

HOW TO BECOME A FAST BOWLER:

During his school days Shoaib used to run the 100-meter races. He was a very good sprinter. That’s how he got his pace ----- doing a fast 35-meter run-up. FAVOURITIES OF AKHTAR: Singers : Kumar Shanu, Lata Mangeshkar
Food : Aloo-Keema
Drink : Coke
Fruit : Mango
Actors : Amitabh Bacchan
Actresses : Sonali Bendre
Sport : Snooker and Football ( Other than Cricket )
Pastime : Listening to Ghazals
Clothes : Jeans and T-shirt
Colour : Black and Blue.
Foreign City : Londonerry, Ireland
City in Pakistan : Rawalpindi
People : Well dressed
Festival : Eid-Mela
Season : Winter
Subject : Biology
Cricket Ground : Melbourne and Calcutta
LIFE BEFORE BOCOMING A CRICKETER :

Before becoming a cricketer Shoaib was a wild, irresponsible and reckless lad who always got into trouble, fighting in streets or running after girls. In his words, “ I didn’t have to work so I would just roam around on my Kawasaki 750 motorbike. I was totally carefree. I wasn’t a very nice guy, infact I was nasty and bad. I was always getting into fights-usually over women. I was a real street fighter. People didn’t like me at all.” Shoaib has a nine-inch scar across his chest and a lot more wounds down his legs. He further added, “I even carried a gun though for my own safety. I would never shoot anyone, but would fire in the air in order to scare the enemies. My mother was always worried about me. At times she slapped me and said, “I am not happy with you. You better be a good man.” And see her wish has come true. Now my mother is very proud of me and wishes me luck before every Match.”

International career

Akhtar's run of impressive performances started in the 1990s. In 1999, during a pre-World Cup series against India, he rose to prominence. It was followed by outstanding bowling performances in Sharjah and later in 1999 Cricket World Cup. His most significant performance was in India in 1999 when he captured eight wickets in the Asian Test championship match at Calcutta – including the wickets of Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid off successive deliveries. This was Akhtar's first encounter with Sachin Tendulkar, in which Akthar bowled him off the first delivery he delivered to the batsman.
In 2002, he was selected for the Pakistan team against Australia and achieved success. However he performed poorly during the 2003 Cricket World Cup and after the tournament he was dropped from the Pakistan squad. He was selected back into the Pakistan squad in the 2004 Test match series against New Zealand, but struggled in a losing Test series against India in 2004. The series ended with a controversy when he left the field citing an injury leading to suspicions by former Pakistan captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, about his commitment to the team. As a result, his relationship with Inzamam-ul-Haq and former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer deteriorated. A medical panel was set up by the Pakistan Cricket Board to investigate the nature of his injury, however Pakistan officials dispelled all suspicions.
In 2005, Akhtar regained his reputation as a fast bowler for his side. Playing in a three Test home series against England, he made a series of impressive bowling performances. His effective use of slower deliveries proved to be unplayable by the English batsmen. Akhtar emerged as the highest wicket taker of the series with seventeen wickets. His comeback was also remarkable as prior to his return, he had been criticized from all corners-such as by the Worcestershire chairman John Elliot for his celebrity attitude and lack of commitment to team. His performance was also acknowledged by the English captain Michael Vaughan, who remarked "I thought he (Shoaib) was a big difference between the two teams". He is also known as the only bowler ever to break the 100 mph barrier in cricket bowling history, with a delivery of 100.2 mph, and this delivery at stands as the fastest recorded to date.

Struggle for form and consistent injuries (2007–2009)

On 29 October 2007, Akhtar made his return to cricket, from his 13 match ban and performed well, taking 4 wickets for 43 runs against South Africa in the fifth and deciding One Day International series in Lahore in Pakistan. Subsequently, he was included in the 16 man Pakistan squad for the 2007 tour of India, which he completed successfully without further incident and injury.

International Debut: 1997

Batting and fielding records

	M	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St

Test	46	67	13	544	47	10.07	1313	41.43	-	-	53	22	12	-

ODI	163	83	40	394	43	9.16	537	73.37	-	-	27	12	20	-

T20I	15	4	1	8	4	2.67	9	88.89	-	-	1	-	2	-

Bowling records

	M	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Eco	SR	4W	5W	10W

Test	46	82	8143	4574	178	6/11	11/78	25.70	3.37	45.75	10	12	2

ODI	163	161	7710	6099	246	6/16	6/16	24.79	4.75	31.34	6	4	-

T20I	15	13	270	352	15	2/11	2/11	23.47	7.82	18.00	-	-	-