Speaking from Colombo, Akram said: Shoaib has been an excellent bowler for the last 13 years. When he first played, I made him play against West Indies in 1997 and he was very quick, unplayable at times. I remember in the 1999 tour of India, in the Kolkata Test, where he replaced Waqar, Shoaib got Dravid and Sachin in two deliveries. Since then, he has never looked back. Ask Sourav Ganguly! Ganguly sums it up by saying that Shoaib was the quickest bowler he has ever faced. Coming from a guy like Ganguly, it shows that Shoaib has been an excellent bowler.
Akram said, Shoaib’s strength was his pace. He added: “His weaknesses were his own discipline. At times he was self destructive! However, what he gave to the game was a feel of speed. There was no bowler who could bowl at over 100 miles per hour. Only later Brett Lee and Shaun Tait came. Shoaib was the only one who could actually dismiss batsman by forcing them on the backfoot by his pace. He had the perfect yorker, he had a very good bouncer. He was lethal with the old ball. He had the ability to change Test matches by picking up 5 wickets in half hour and blow sides away.”
Akram said, Akhtar’s decision to quit was “an intelligent one.” He said: “It is for any athlete, in any sport, difficult to assess yourself. I think Shoaib assessed himself perfectly. He knew it was time to go. I think not only Pakistan cricket but world cricket will miss him. He was a character and he still one. Actually people just used to come and watch Akhtar bowl in a stadium, even for practice matches!”
Saying that Akhtar did not fulfill his full potential, Akram said: “People will always remember him as the one of the fastest bowlers the world has ever seen. I wanted him to be remembered as one of the greatest bowlers we have ever seen. The positives are that he was a sight to watch. He has tormented many batsmen in the world. His captains, including me, used to stand at mid-on and have fun watching him bowl.”
Reminiscing on a mercurial career, Manjrekar said Akhtar will be missed dearly. “I feel sad that a fascinating career like Akhtar’s is coming to an end. He has been likeable for more reasons than one,” said Manjrekar.
“When Akhtar was in his prime, I was covering cricket in Pakistan and saw him pick up five wickets against England on a flat wicket once, when batsmen were ducking for cover. He bowled wonderful yorkers. Akhtar was simply brilliant when in form," he added.
Manjrekar also hailed the feistiness in the pacer saying, “He was a typical strike bowler that batsmen would fear and Indians have also been at the receiving end of that. He will be remembered for the fear he put into the opposition with his bowling style.”
“Considering his speed, I’ve always felt that his control over the ball has been brilliant. He is also very street-smart on the field, may not come across as that off the field,” praised the former India Test batsman.
Known as the bad boy of Pakistan cricket, Akhtar always made the headlines for the right as well as the wrong reasons but Manjrekar feels Akhtar was a true sport on the field. “He may have had a lot of issues off the field but on the field, he never looked as bad tempered or someone who flew off the handle. So many times when fielders would drop batsmen off his bowling, he would just shrug his shoulders, smile and carry on,” Manjrekar said.
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