Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar was unarguably one of the most lethal pacers to ever play the game as he used to trouble the batters with his raw pace during his playing days. Akhtar, fondly known as the Rawalpindi Express, was the first bowler to click 100 mph in international cricket. However, things were not easy for Akhtar during his younger days as couldn’t walk until the age of 6.
Akhtar was touted as the next big thing in Pakistan cricket after Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, but his career was cut short due to persistent injuries. In a recent interview with ‘The Age’, Akhtar said that he has had 42 injections to his left knee and 62 jabs, in addition to nine operations.
Akhtar revealed that when he was young, a doctor told his mother he will not be able to run like normal guys and predicted him to be a half-disabled boy in future.
“I could not walk until the age of six. I used to crawl,” Akhtar said.
“The doctor always said to my mother, ‘Listen, this guy will be half-disabled. He will not be able to run like normal guys’.”
The former pacer further talked about his injury-prone career and said that he sometimes use to fall asleep in an ice bath after recovery.
“[The injuries] became bone on bone in my knees. Imagine the pain I went through. Man, it was terrible,” said Akhtar.
“I used to [fall] asleep in an ice bath. There were many times that teammates would wake me up and say, ‘It’s four in the morning, get out and get in the bed’. I used to hide my injuries. There was fierce competition and the media wouldn’t understand why I didn’t play regularly.”
In 46 Tests, Akhtar claimed 178 wickets at an impressive average of 25.7. He was equally lethal with the white-ball as he picked 247 scalps in 163 matches. While, he didn’t get chance to play the shortest format much as in 15 T20I he left a big impression with 19 wickets.
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