Shoaib Akhtar Great Wickets and Bouncers
Shoaib Akhtar (born 13 August 1975) is a Pakistani former cricketer who is regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in modern cricket. He was nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express" due to the city in which he was born.
He made his Test debut in November 1997 and played his first One Day International 4 months later. He played on the Pakistan national cricket team as an attacking fast bowler.
He has been involved in several controversies during his career, often accused of not being a team player, but he often made a significant impact. Akhtar was sent home during a Test match series in Australia in 2005 for alleged poor attitude. A year later, he was embroiled in a drug scandal after testing positive to a banned substance. However, the ban imposed on him was lifted on appeal. In September 2007, he was banned for an indefinite period for his fight with Pakistan team mate and fast bowler Mohammad Asif. On 1 April 2008, Akhtar was banned for 5 years for publicly criticizing the Pakistan Cricket Board. In October 2008, the Lahore High Court in Pakistan suspended the five-year ban and Akhtar was selected in the 15-man squad for the Twenty20 Quadrangular Tournament in Canada. Pakistani judge Rana Bhagwandas once stated that Akhtar is a legend of Pakistan cricket. Akhtar retired from international cricket after the 2011 World Cup.
Considering his subsequent high profile in cricket, Akhtar's test career started rather modestly. He was first picked to play on his home ground in Rawalpindi during the 2nd Test of the West Indies 1997/98 tour of Pakistan. He was subsequently included in the tour of South Africa during the winter of 1998, where he played in all three tests. He was notably the spearhead of a depleted Pakistani bowling attack in the Peshawar Test against the visiting Australians later in 1998, when Mark Taylor scored his famous 334 n.o. in Australia's first innings. Subsequently, after 8 tests and 16 innings, Akhtar had accumulated only 18 wickets to his name.
Akhtar's run of impressive performances started in 1999, during a pre-World Cup series against India. 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 batsmen Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar when he bowled both batmsen off successive deliveries. It was the first ball he ever bowled to Tendulkar.
Article Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoaib_Akhtar
