Lahore:World’s fastest bowler Shoaib Akhtar on Sunday revealed that current Pakistan chief selector Inzamamul Haq was the most difficult batsman to get out in his opinion.
“There were a lot of players in the world [whom I found difficult to get out] but the most difficult, whom I couldn’t even get out in the nets, was Inzama,” said Akhtar in the Wasim Akram-hosted show The Sportsman.
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“I think there was no other player who played me better than him. His footwork was quick, he would place himself and be ready to play. He could see the ball earlier than many. I always thought he had an extra second. However fast I bowl, he had placed himself where the ball would land,” he added.
Pakistan toured India in 1999 to play a two-match Test series and one-off match of the Asian Test Championship.
Akhtar got his chance in the third match. He bagged eight wickets in that Test, four in each innings, with the highlight being the pacer dismissing Rahul David and Sachin Tendulkar on consecutive deliveries.
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“You [Wasim, the then captain] gave me the ball after lunch and you were telling me to do this and that,” Akhtar reminisced. “Then you became quiet for some time and I thought to myself that I should open up and bowl a quicker one to Dravid. When Dravid was bowled, then I realised that Sachin is coming. I realised that he didn’t walk in while watching the shine on the ball.”
He continued: “I turned from my mark to bowl and you shouted, ‘O Shabi, pura told k lana andar ta k leg stump miss na ho’ (Shoaib, swing it in calculatedly so it doesn’t miss the leg stump). I turned again and I stopped and said to myself, Ya Allah, if I get this wicket, my dream will be fulfilled in Kolkatta.”
“I ran in and as I was approaching the crease, I saw that the gap between Sachin’s bat and his pads was opening. And then when I bowled outside off-stump, I knew he would miss it. As soon as it hit the middle stump, it was an amazing moment for me.”
