From being the man who silenced the Eden Gardens when he bowled Tendulkar out on the first ball he ever bowled to him to being the person who had every soul in Eden Gardens screaming his name as he tore up the opposition in his first match for Kolkata Kinghtriders, Shoaib Akhtar was the man we all loved to hate.
We loved him when he roared in and blew the oppositions away, one after the other; we adored him when he beat Bret Lee to become the first and the only person in history to breach the 100 mph barrier; we were awestruck when he got Dravid and Tendulkar in consecutive balls; we ran around our living rooms imitating the soaring eagle every time he got a wicket; we defended him in front of his critics; our hearts sank whenever he would fall injured; we doubted him when he didn’t meet our expectations; we hardly ever gave him a chance to explain; yet we all loved him! Irrespective of whether we had opposed or supported his selection, we couldn’t help but pump our fists every time he got a wicket, every time he hit a batsman on their head and every time he glared into their eyes after making them fall on the ground. We all loved Shoaib Akhtar.
Shoaib Akhtar was a success story. A flat foot boy who unlike 99% of the country only started to play cricket in his teens, who fought his way through allegations of chucking and drugs; he showed us what patriotism and passion for the green jersey means. Shoaib Akhtar had a story to tell every time he steamed in to bowl. The script was written by his fingers controlling the direction of the ball, the direction came from his buzzing cricketing mind, the drama came with his slower balls, the action with his jaw breaking bouncers, and the romance? the romance came with middle stumps flying all over town.
The number 14 shall forever be etched in our memories, not because cricketing legends like Ponting wore it on their shirts, but because of the soaring eagle that Shoaib Akhtar was. The sight of the number 14 blazing towards the bowling crease with the crowd cheering it on was and always will be one of the most beautiful sights in world cricket. It may not be as elegant as Imran Khan’s run in or as clever as Wasim Akram’s but it was menacing, it struck fear in the heart of the oppositions’ batsmen, those who had the misfortune of facing him and those who were waiting in the dressing room, praying they don’t get to face him.
A lot has been said about how Shoaib fought through his injuries over time and how passionate he was about the game and all of it is true. Even in his last tournament he had a vital role to play in getting Pakistan through to the knock out stages. It is extremely unfortunate that his last over ever in International cricket will be the one he bowled to Ross Taylor; but it can’t take away from us any of the memories he has left us with. From his unstoppable performances during the 1999 world cup to bowling Mahela out with a beauty of a delivery in the 2011 world cup; from the 100mph+ (161.3kmph) ball as a 28 year old during the 2003 world cup to scintillating pace, including a delivery bowled at over 159kmph during the 2011 world cup; from his toe crushing Yorkers to his intelligently bowled slower deliveries; Shoaib Akhtar created magic and we couldn’t help but be in his awe.
Not just as a Pakistani cricket fan, but as a cricket fan in general, it is my wish to see Shoaib in action in his own country one last time. I appeal to the PCB to give him a farewell match. Make it Akhtar XI VS Afridi XI, invite players from Pakistan and players from abroad. Shoaib has made some great friends in other teams, both current and retired players, and I’m sure they will love to come play in his farewell match. Invite Brian Lara, Shoaib has always regretted that he only got to bowl 3 deliveries to him; give Shoaib the best farewell gift he can get, let him bowl to Lara one final time.
Not only will this match serve as a farewell match for Shoaib, but it will also pave way for the return of International Cricket to Pakistan. And above all, we will all get to see the soaring eagle again.
Let’s hope we get to cheer his name as he soars in one last time.
Ahmad Babar
A Pakistani Cricket Fan
http://twitter.com/ahmadbabar
1 comment:
I agree with your sentiments expressed and have already started a petition for the PCB to give Shoaib Akhtar a proper send off, one that he deserves. Support the "Shoaib Akhtar Farewell Match" petition! http://petol.org/shoaib14 Let's hope this can reach the authorities concerned, and we can see our hero in action one final time before he calls it quits.
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