Shoaib Akhtar's Biography "'Controversially Yours" and some of his comments

[rkt.india]

Akram tears into Shoaib Akhtar over his claims in biography. MUMBAI: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram on Saturday ridiculed Shoaib Akhtar and his controversial biography, which has made several tall claims, saying the pacer was a "problem" when he was an active player and remains just that even in retirement. Akram pooh-poohed Shoaib's claims of making Sachin Tendulkar uncomfortable with his pace in the Faisalabad Test in 2006 and also rejected some of the other allegations he has made in the book titled 'Controversially Yours'. "I remember Sachin's one innings when he was 16 and touring Pakistan. Sialkot Test was Sachin's 4th Test. He made his debut in that series. There was a lot of grass on the pitch. Waqar and I bowled very fast. Waqar, I think, was 19 and Sachin was 16. "Waqar hit him (Sachin) on the helmet just below the chin and he got hurt. But he put a plaster and he came back to score a 50. If a 16-year-old kid wasn't scared, I don't think any of the top batsmen in the world is scared of any bowler," Akram told reporters on the sidelines of International Sports Summit here. "Maybe he might play on the back foot to block the delivery or maybe he might just see it off. But I don't think a player like Sachin can get scared of any bowler. He (Shoaib) can write anything to sell a book, but it does not affect me or Sachin," the former left-arm paceman maintained. On Akhtar's allegation's that he was responsible for destroying the former's career, Akram said no one but the 'Rawalpindi Express' himself was responsible for it. "I know, Shoaib knows and the entire world knows that he himself is responsible for destroying his career. Nobody helped him (in destroying his career)." "Whatever PCB ( Pakistan Cricket Board) has told the press I agree with that. I am with PCB (on Shoaib). They have said about Shoaib being a problem when he was in team and even now when he is not in the team," stated Akram, one of the most successful Pakistani cricketers of all time. "I was the one who made him (Shoaib) play. But I don't want to go to his level. There is an unwritten contract for sportsmen that you do not tell the personal details of others to the press. So some people are different. I am different from him. It does not bother me. He can go on saying whatever he wants," the 45-year-old former speedster said. "There is no point in me talking about his book. I still haven't read his book. But his idea is good. If the books get sold then good luck to him," said Akram, adding, "You people (media) will ensure his book is a bestseller." On India's disastrous tour of England, the sultan of swing said while the team's batting failures could be blamed on injuries, not playing rookie pacer Varun Aaron, who has done well in the Emerging Players series Down Under, was inexcusable. "Indian bowling struggled during the England tour. I was commentating throughout the series. In batting there were a lot of injuries and rightly so because Indian team is a human team. They were playing for a long time. Fair enough. "In bowling if you see, a youngster like Varun Aaron, who I think is ready to play for India, was sitting out throughout the tour. But you did not play him for the five (ODI) matches. You groom a bowler. If you give him a chance against England in India, then there is a flat wicket over here. He will get hit and his confidence will get affected. He did well against Australia with the Emerging side (India A)." "Jaidev (Unadkat) is there, Umesh Yadav... are other young bowlers who have some pace. There are two-three more bowlers. I will talk about them when they start playing. The idea is to play them," Akram said. "You can't have them playing for just 3-4 seasons. They will retire after three seasons after bowling on these slow wickets. So the idea is to play them when they have the pace and energy in them," Akram said. The former paceman, who has taken 414 Test and 501 ODI wickets, said Indian bowlers themselves were responsible for losing pace soon after debut. "I have travelled with the Indian cricket team and have tried to improve their game. A lot of them ask me why they lose pace. I think the player himself is responsible for that. "If I am a 25-year old bowler, then I should know that a year ago I was bowling at 145 kmph and now it is 125 kmph. I have to think what is it that I am doing wrong. Cricket is a simple game but people (foreign coaches) who have come from outside have complicated things," Akram said. "The more you bowl the better you get. The more you bowl in the nets, the stronger your fast bowling muscles get and your pace increases. Now there is a new system that a bowler cannot bowl more than two overs (in the nets). If you bowl for two overs in nets and spend two hours in the gym, the muscles will improve not your bowling," he added. Stating that the Indian bowling attack relied heavily on left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan, Akram said the team will have to get used to doing well without him. "There is too much over-dependence on some bowlers. Now Zaheer is not (in the team) for four months. You have to survive without him. You have to prepare bowlers and give them confidence without his support." "I used to go to Richard Hadlee, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, and ask them how to in-swing and outswing. You have to create awareness on your own. You will not learn anything sitting in a room," he added. Akram felt India should let the senior players continue as long as they were doing well. "Seniors are bound to leave. Sachin is playing well. Rahul was the best in England. If they want to play, they should play. "Youngsters should learn from such role models. Rohit (Sharma), Virat (Kohli), Suresh (Raina) should learn what is the work ethics of Sachin and Dravid. Their (youngsters) ultimate goal should be Test cricket. If a player plays well in Tests, then one-day cricket and 20-20 will follow. If you play 20-20 and then go for Test then it won't work," he said. Akram said India should be mentally prepared to play on bouncy pitches during their upcoming tour of Australia. "The (next) big tour (after England) for you is Australia, and let me tell you Australia will be a very tough series for India. Different wickets and bouncy tracks. I have a firm belief Australia will make nice bouncy wickets." Akram also called for resumption of sporting ties between India and Pakistan. "India and Pakistan should play against each other. When I used to play against India in a Test or one-day, the pressure was very high. "I remember when there was a match against India I couldn't sleep the previous night. If you perform under that pressure, either as a player from India or Pakistan, then against any other team the pressure does not affect him. If we play against each other often, players will get confidence." He also had words of praise for the Indo-Pak tennis duo of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam Qureshi. "It is something unique. Wherever I go and see they have reached the finals or they have won I do feel proud. Our background is the same. We are the same people. So it feels really good." http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/top-stories/Akram-tears-into-Shoaib-Akhtar-over-his-claims-in-biography/articleshow/10106013.cms

[rkt.india]

"Jaidev (Unadkat) is there, Umesh Yadav... are other young bowlers who have some pace. There are two-three more bowlers. I will talk about them when they start playing. The idea is to play them," Akram said.

Who are those tow-three guys? 1. Mohammad Shami Ahmed 2. :dontknow: 3. :dontknow:

[ShebbySB]

Who are those tow-three guys? 1. Mohammad Shami Ahmed 2. :dontknow: 3. :dontknow:

2)Rahul Shukla,3)Sudeep Tyagi,4)Pawan Suyal,5)Abu Nechim

[dragonfly]

Bihar Express :yay:

[rkt.india]

2)Rahul Shukla' date='3)Sudeep Tyagi,4)Pawan Suyal,5)Abu Nechim[/quote'] dont think Akram was talking about these guys as Tyagi and Nechim have played in IPL. They must be related to KKR as he has been with KKR like Shami.

[Stuge]

Bhai how many threads do we need related to this biography ?

[achilles]

Asked about the many controversies in the Pakistan dressing room' date=' Akhtar shot back, "[b']At least we confined it to the dressing room."

Targetting Former Captain Inzamam, blamed him for Pakistan team's growing radicalization. "To force grown-ups, as thought they were children, to do the namaz or zikr seems a bit strange to me. But some people thought that this was the way to take the team forward.Roza, namaz, tabliz were to be compulsory team events. Threats were used; if you don't pray with the team, you will be thrown out. Islam has also given us instructions on when and how to pray. When the whole team got together for namaz, the bathroom floor would become wet and f!lthy. It was disgusting. Islam is all about purity, cleanliness. We began praying on air-planes, if you please. I firmly believe in namaz. However, a cricketer's primary duty is to play cricket. If you feel that cricket is less important, leave it - go out into the world and preach. When religion came into our dressing room, I thought, what hypocrisy!" When asked why his attachment to his family saint and his deep religious belief still made him so uncomfortable with Inzamam's ways, he said: "Hypocrisy makes me uncomfortable. I am against imposing something on anybody - or me." "It was heartbreaking and painful. I was let down by my own board. Our-then chairman Naseem Ashraf took the news to the media." His soul was hurt - and his body. Blaming Javed Miandad for physical problems, Shoaib writes: "As a coach, he never guided any of us, never cared for anyone. A similar callousness resided within almost all the senior players in our team... Our seniors set the example of going out, having a good time - girls were coming and going out of their rooms. This was the prevailing culture in the Pakistan team. I know people who were drunk and came out to play and now they call me undisciplined - it's unbelievable!

[Sachinism]

He also yorked himself and paki cricket by openly accepting that he and his colleagues tampered the ball

You say it like its something they would be ashamed of. That will make them proud

[achilles]

You say it like its something they would be ashamed of. That will make them proud

Don't be stupid. This is a saazish by RAW-Mossad-CIA-BCCI, who have exploited Shoaib's weaknesses and bribed him to say all that.

[ganeshran]

You say it like its something they would be ashamed of. That will make them proud

The moral compass of some pakistani fans is quite disturbing to say the least. They hail Afridi and Akhtar as honest players apparently because they never indulged in match fixing. But the cheating done to win is ok - ball tampering, doping, ball biting, pitch tampering and many more

[achilles]

Someone got a pipi account? Need it for a few hrs.

[Rahul Dravid]

LOL trying to find new ways to make money

[Pak_Forever]

Not sure what Indian media and public are going gaga over. The problem actually lies with both of them giving Sachin a status of somewhat like "God" etc than just a player. In the end he's just a human being who plays cricket. A genius of batting but he's just a player. Most batsmen are fearful of furious fast bowlers, and Shoaib Akthar has made Sachin and Dravid uncomfortable with his extreme pace and bounce a dozen of times...more so Sachin than Dravid. Watch the following video...he has got Sachin countless times. Turn the volume off b/c you may find it ahmm 'offensive.' [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rd86ejSvyw]SHOAIB AKHTAR "BUNNY" SACHIN TENDULKAR - YouTube[/ame]

[Andrew Peter]

Not sure what Indian media and public are going gaga over. The problem actually lies with both of them giving Sachin a status of somewhat like "God" etc than just a player. In the end he's just a human being who plays cricket. A genius of batting but he's just a player. Most batsmen are fearful of furious fast bowlers, and Shoaib Akthar has made Sachin and Dravid uncomfortable with his extreme pace and bounce a dozen of times...more so Sachin than Dravid. Watch the following video...he has got Sachin countless times. Turn the volume off b/c you may find it ahmm 'offensive.'

So why was your Paki Sher afraid to turn up for the match in Mohali? Afraid of the 2003 WC phainty perhaps.

[Pak_Forever]

So why was your Paki Sher afraid to turn up for the match in Mohali? Afraid of the 2003 WC phainty perhaps.

For how long will you be stuck on 2003? You guys got the biggest phant of all in the final of that tournament......just like we did in 1999 :winky: One game doesn't matter much. In that particular game you refer, Sachin first owned him, then on return Akthar owned Sachin with his very first deadly bouncer and didn't let him get his another century. As simple as that.

[CSK Fan]

Not sure what Indian media and public are going gaga over. The problem actually lies with both of them giving Sachin a status of somewhat like "God" etc than just a player. In the end he's just a human being who plays cricket. A genius of batting but he's just a player. Most batsmen are fearful of furious fast bowlers, and Shoaib Akthar has made Sachin and Dravid uncomfortable with his extreme pace and bounce a dozen of times...more so Sachin than Dravid. Watch the following video...he has got Sachin countless times. Turn the volume off b/c you may find it ahmm 'offensive.'

Dude if some Indian player speaks cr@p even about Sami, wont you guys defend him? Its nothing to do with someone's stature As for the video, 5-6 times is countless now? Even bowlers like Razzak and Cronje have got him out more times than Akhtar. Also some of those are innings in the video are when Sachin already made a good score so its retarted Also remember that Akhtar said Sachin was afraid of him. What has that to do with Akhtar getting him out a few times? Way to completely miss the point

[CSK Fan]

For how long will you be stuck on 2003? You guys got the biggest phant of all in the final of that tournament......just like we did in 1999 :winky: One game doesn't matter much. In that particular game you refer, Sachin first owned him, then on return Akthar owned Sachin with his very first deadly bouncer and didn't let him get his another century. As simple as that.

A match which knocked you out of the world cup was not important for you? for all you know you might have recovered and won that world cup if not for that match and as Sachin has said many times, winning is more important than scoring a 100. The damage was done and Sachin getting out didnt change anything

[saneindian]

Again a case of a nobody trying to sell his book in India by taking a cheap shot at our players. I will blame the Indian media for giving this moron the chance to promote his book. And to think the publisher is an Indian and the book is dedicated to an Indian as well, again a nobody. A ppor marketing gimmick. Try better next time Mr. Steroids. BTW has he said anything about his genital warts in his book?

[div]

Countless times ,:hysterical: These Pakis have no shame:banghead:

[Andrew Peter]

For how long will you be stuck on 2003? You guys got the biggest phant of all in the final of that tournament......just like we did in 1999 :winky: One game doesn't matter much. In that particular game you refer, Sachin first owned him, then on return Akthar owned Sachin with his very first deadly bouncer and didn't let him get his another century. As simple as that.

So dismissing a Batsmen after he has knocked your team out of the World Cup competition is getting owned by you :haha::haha: Can you tell me why the Beast Akhtar refused to bowl another over at Sachin after being hit for 14 runs in the first ? Getting yourself out of the attack when the batsman goes after you and only returning to bowl at him again after the Match is virtually over isnt exactly a valiant effort . Sachin's 98 kicked Pakistan out of the World Cup but what did Akhtar's dismissing Sachin achieve for you guys? Were we Crying after the match because Sachin didnt complete the century or were you guys grieving the world cup loss in a Hyped Contest?