Pakistani Cricket Players: Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar Biography
Shoaib Akhtar Profile, Akhtar's Profile, Pakistan Cricket Player Shoheb Akhtar, Fast Bowler Akhtar, Rawalpindi Express.
Friday, February 02, 2007

Country
Pakistan

Full name
Shoaib Akhtar

Born
August 13, 1975, Rawalpindi, Punjab

Current age
31 years 172 days

Major teams
Pakistan, Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan,
Asia XI, Durham, ICC World XI, Khan Research Labs,
Pakistan International Airlines, Rawalpindi,
Somerset, Worcestershire

Batting style
Right-hand bat

Bowling style
Right-arm fast

Career statistics

Test debut Pakistan v West Indies at Rawalpindi - Nov 29-Dec 3, 1997
Last Test Pakistan v India at Karachi - Jan 29-Feb 2, 2006
ODI debut Zimbabwe v Pakistan at Harare - Mar 28, 1998
Last ODI England v Pakistan at Nottingham - Sep 8, 2006

Profile

Shoaib Akhtar burst onto the big stage in the 1999 World Cup with a long, hurtling run-up and blistering speed. His star status was sealed by a great flop of hair, a talent for show-boating and a vivid nickname - the Rawalpindi Express. But it was too much, too young. A huge ego and his blind ambition to break the 100mph barrier seemed to matter more to him than cementing his place in the Pakistan side. The authorities twice sidelined him over throwing allegations and although his action was cleared, courtesy of hyperextensible joints and the University of Western Australia, injuries created fresh doubts over his international future. However, he channelled his enormous resources far better in 2002, turning in two of the most blistering bowling efforts of the year, both against Australia. First, he blitzed them with a spell of 5 for 25 in a one-dayer at Brisbane, and then returned 5 for 21 in a spectacular performance in Colombo that all but won the Test. The 2003 World Cup was far more disappointing, though. He promised much, but came a cropper, especially in the needle encounter against Sachin Tendulkar. Dropped after the World Cup, Shoaib roared back to form on the tour to New Zealand, but soon after came a forgettable - and controversial - series against India. Not only did he struggle for wickets, he also left the field at a crucial stage of the third Test citing wrist injury and back pain, though neither injury seemed to bother him when he came out to bat. Shoaib felt the heat, as his commitment and his relationship with the captain and the team management came into question as well. The series began a period in which Shoaib's career came under its gravest threat. Mutterings about his commitment were never far away and a difficult relationship with Inzamam and Bob Woolmer the coach didn't make matters easier. He blew hot and cold in Australia, looking Pakistan's most incisive threat for periods but also looking their most disinterested at others. A hamstring injury cut short that tour and a potpourri of fitness, commitment and attitudinal complaints meant he missed most of Pakistan's cricket in 2005. But, inevitably perhaps, he came back against England, finishing with 17 wickets and proving the difference between the two sides. As well as being at the peak of his powers - a concotion of lethal slower balls, yorkers and bouncers - Shoaib looked a team man to the core. Typically since then he has spent much time on the sidelines, missing tours to Sri Lanka and most of England with a combination of ankle and knee injuries. He returned to play the ODI series against England and seemed back in full flow, before again missing the last match with an injury. His rehabilitation at the end of 2005 might become, in time, one of the most significant moments in Pakistan's history. Equally, it might not which tells you all you need to know about the Rawalpindi Express

Shoaib Akhtar