Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar exposes his gory side as a cricketer!
Shoaib Akhtar in his prime was someone batsmen dreaded facing due to his express pace and frightening accuracy. His career might have been curtailed by disciplinary issues and injuries, but on his day he was unplayable.
The sheer pace with which he bowled meant batsmen actually found themselves getting injured whilst facing him. Nineteen batsmen have had to retire hurt after being hit by Shoaib Akhtar, a fact that he recently shared on his official Twitter account.
According to Akhtar himself, this was something he never enjoyed doing… with one exception.
Shoaib Akhtar would then go on to reveal that he enjoyed attacking Matthew Hayden whilst he batted, stating that he wanted to “hit (him) badly during my playing days”.
It’s worth noting that Matthew Hayden isn’t the only batsmen Shoaib Akhtar has become friendly with post-retirement. Akhtar had a fiery on-field rivalry with former India opener Virender Sehwag. Nowadays, the two can be found exchanging friendly banter on social media.
Both Virender Sehwag and former skipper M.S. Dhoni have gone on record stating that Akhtar was extremely hard to deal with in his peak. However, it will certainly be interesting to hear what Matthew Hayden has to say on this matter.(Agencies)
