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Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar2.jpg
Shoaib Akhtar signing an autograph at England.
Personal information
Full name Shoaib Akhtar
Born (1975-08-13) 13 August 1975 (age 41)
Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
Nickname Rawalpindi Express, Tiger, Don
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Batting style Right hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm fast
Role Bowler
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 150) 29 November 1997 v West Indies
Last Test 8 December 2007 v India
ODI debut (cap 123) 28 March 1998 v Zimbabwe
Last ODI 8 March 2011 v New Zealand
ODI shirt no. 14
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I
Matches 46 163 15
Runs scored 544 394 21
Batting average 10.07 8.95 7.00
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/0
Top score 47 43 8*
Balls bowled 8,143 7,764 318
Wickets 178 247 19
Bowling average 25.69 24.97 22.73
5 wickets in innings 12 4 0
10 wickets in match 2 n/a n/a
Best bowling 6/11 6/16 3/38
Catches/stumpings 12/– 20/– 2/–
Source: Cricinfo, 8 November 2010

Shoaib Akhtar (About this sound pronunciation ; born 13 August 1975) is a former Pakistani cricketer. He is known as the fastest bowler ever in the history of cricket and has bowled the fastest delivery officially recorded at a top speed of 161.3km/h. Akhtar was nicknamed as "Rawalpindi Express", as a tribute to his hometown and fast bowling. He is widely acknowledged as a legend in cricket history & one of the greatest fast bowlers ever.

Akhtar made his Test debut in November 1997 as an opening fast bowler and played his first One Day International 3 months later. Akhtar has been involved in several controversies during his career, often accused of not being a team player, but was also commended for significantly impacting games in Pakistan's favour. Akhtar was sent home during a Test match series in Australia in 2005 for alleged poor attitude. A year later, he was embroiled in a drug scandal after testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance nandrolone. However, the ban imposed on him was lifted on appeal. In September 2007, he was banned for an indefinite period for his fight with Pakistan team mate and fast bowler Mohammad Asif. On 1 April 2008, Akhtar was banned for 5 years for publicly criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board. In October 2008, the Lahore High Court in Pakistan suspended the five-year ban and Akhtar was selected in the 15-man squad for the Twenty20 Quadrangular Tournament in Canada. Pakistani judge Rana Bhagwandas once stated that Akhtar is a legend of Pakistan cricket. Akhtar retired from international cricket after the 2011 World Cup.


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