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| Pakistani
Squad
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Shoaib
Akhtar
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| Born: |
13 August 1975, Rawalpindi, Punjab |
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| Major
Teams: |
Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan, Pakistan
International Airlines, Rawalpindi Cricket Association,
Somerset, Khan Research Labs, Pakistan. |
| Known
As: |
Shoaib Akhtar |
| Pronounced: |
Shoaib Akhtar |
| Batting
Style: |
Right Hand Bat |
| Bowling
Style: |
Right Arm Fast
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| Test
Debut: |
Pakistan v West Indies at Rawalpindi, 2nd Test, 1997/98 |
| Latest
Test: |
Pakistan v Zimbabwe at Bulawayo, 2nd Test, 2002/03 |
| ODI
Debut: |
Pakistan v Zimbabwe at Harare, 1st ODI, 1997/98 |
| Latest
ODI: |
Pakistan v South Africa at Paarl, 4th ODI, 2002/03 |
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Profile:
Rated, along with the Australian
Brett Lee, as one of the fastest bowler of the world, Shoaib
Akhtar was never interested in cricket in his childhood. It is
interesting to note though that he developed a fancy for fast
bowling only after seeing Waqar Younis, the man whom he replaced
in the team, bowl his deadly yorkers. Flatfooted by birth, Shoaib
matured as a fast bowler in the domestic seasons. He plays for
Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan where his raw talent was
harvested by some sensible coaching.
Hailing from Rawalpindi, this strongly built pace man is a story
of transformation of a problematic youth to a popular pace man and
a very outgoing personality. A negative disciplinary report by the
manager of Pakistan "A" on their tour to England in 1996
put brakes on his career, although he took 25 wickets during that
tour. He was selected for the Sahara Cup 1996 but was dropped on
disciplinary grounds.
However, shaking aside the image of these youthful misdemeanors,
he has now come of age and with his destructive pace destroyed
many a batting line up of the world. His five-wicket haul at
Durban in 1997-98, which helped Pakistan win their first ever Test
at South African soil was just a premonition of the things to
come. He duly played his part in Pakistan's victory over India in
the first match of the Asian Test Championship by grabbing eight
wickets in the match. His two yorkers perishing Rahul Dravid and
Sachin Tendulkar on consecutive deliveries remained the talking
point for some time. His performance during the World Cup 99 was
stunning as he relished upon the fast and bouncy English pitches.
His bowling speed reached figures of up to 99 miles per hour speed
on a number of occasions. Visibly pumped by the unique publicity
in the media, he has tried to acquire the magical figure of 100
m/h only to put extra strain on his back.
Shoaib's damaged back kept him out of international cricket for
quite some time. He did not only miss out his much-hyped stint
with the English county Nottinghamshire, but also had to sit out
during the tours of Caribbean, Sri Lanka and the home series
against England. He has been picked for the tour of New Zealand
after proving his fitness.
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