Shoaib Akhtar makes a big revelation about wanting to injure this Indian legendary batter
Sachin Tendulkar-Shoaib Akhtar-VVS Laxman-Rahul Dravid (Image Source: Twitter)
The game of cricket is no less than a religion in India. There is a popular saying in the cricket-crazy nation – “If cricket is a religion, Sachin is the God.” The batting brilliance of Sachin Tendulkar is often considered the greatest in the game. He has dominated many a top bowler during his playing days. Rarely has a bowler had his way against Sachin.
The former Pakistani pacer, Shoaib Akhtar recalled such an incident during India’s tour of Pakistan in 2006. The incident Akhtar is speaking of is from the third Test at Karachi. Akhtar is known for his aggressive nature and he has revealed that during the match his intention was not to get Sachin dismissed but to injure him.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Akhtar revealed- “I’m revealing this for the first time. I intentionally wanted to hit Sachin in that Test match. I was determined that I had to wound Sachin in that Test at any cost. Inzamam kept telling that bowl in front of the wickets, but I wanted to hit Sachin. So, I hit him on his helmet and I felt he was done. But when I watched the video, I saw Sachin had managed to save his head.”
Akhter further stated that while his attempts to hit Sachin continued, disgraced pacer, Mohammad Asif troubled the Indian batters with his ability to swing the ball both ways.
“I again tried to injure him. But on the other side, Indian batting was facing music in the shape of Asif. I had rarely seen anyone bowl as good as the way Asif bowled on that particular day,”- said Akhtar.
Akhtar also revealed that the legendary Indian batter and the current Head Coach of the Indian team, Rahul Dravid felt difficulty while facing Asif. He also revealed that Asif pre-planned the dismissal of VVS Laxman and got his wicket just the way he said he would to his teammates.
“Rahul Dravid use to feel difficulty while facing fast bowler Mohammad Asif. In the test series against India 2006, Mohammad Asif said I will get VVS Laxman out in both the innings by knocking stumps which he later did in the Karachi Test in the similar way he told us,”- added Akhtar.
Speaking of the Karachi Test in 2006, Irfan Pathan achieved the rare feat of picking up a Hat-trick in the first three balls of a Test match. However, India lost the match by 341 runs and thus the series by 1-0. Asif was at his best in the match as he picked up four wickets in the first innings and three in the second.
