V V S Laxman tells Aabhas Sharma about his encounters with Shoaib Akhtar on and off the field.
He has been called the enfant terrible of world cricket, controversy’s favourite child, a drug-cheat and what not. But what Shoaib Akhtar would be remembered as is that he was the fastest bowler in the world at one point of time. Matthew Hayden in his book Standing my Ground said that Akhtar was a “three-over” bowler. Someone who was dangerous for three overs but after that he was quite easy to play. Former West Indian fast bowler Ian Bishop commented that even at that pace Akhtar had beautiful control. Ricky Ponting called him the fastest bowler he ever faced. From the beginning of his career, Akhtar divided opinion and there were detractors who cited his off field controversies and injuries and labelled him lazy and arrogant. Injuries took a toll on his body and at times Akhtar claimed he used to play after taking as many as five injections. Steroids were mentioned in hush-hush tones when talking about his physique and how he generated so much pace. He had numerous run-ins with the Pakistan Cricket Board and questions were raised on the legitimacy of his bowling action as well. There was never a dull moment with Akhtar around.
Now that he has called time on his career, a look at Akhtar’s bowling statistics don’t show impressive numbers — 178 wickets from 46 Tests and 247 from 163 ODIs — but he was one of the most feared bowlers in the world. The long run-up, hair flowing all over and the menacing look added to the Akhtar aura.
However, “an enigma,” is how VVS Laxman describes Shoaib Akhtar. Laxman, who played Akhtar in over 10 Test matches and about 20 ODIs has some fond and not-so-fond memories of playing the Rawalpindi Express. He recalls a few moments in his career — both on and off the pitch — against Akhtar
First memory
“I remember it was the 1999-00 series against Pakistan. There was a lot of hype and interest in the series as Pakistan were touring India for the first time in 12 years. And that Pakistan team was exceptionally talented — at least in bowling. You had Wasim, Waqar, Saqlain and obviously Shoaib. I think the first time I played him was in Kolkata. Waqar didn’t play and Shoaib was at his best in that match. (It was the same match where Akhtar got Dravid and Tendulkar clean bowled on consecutive deliveries — ironically he also bowled Laxman). I was opening the batting those days and had only heard about how fast Shoaib was. We all were curious to see the hype around him. He was steaming in from the first ball and was genuinely quick. I had played Allan Donald, Glenn McGrath in my career but Shoaib along with Brett Lee was menacingly quick. I don’t remember how much I scored in that much but I think in the second innings I played him much better. (Laxman is right. He got 5 in the first innings and a respectable 67 in the second. Akhtar got 8 wickets in the match which India lost by 46 runs).
How quick was Akhtar
“One of the fastest I have ever faced. He had this long run up and used to steam in with all his might. I don’t think there was any one particular delivery which was toughest to face. With fast bowlers, you know that if you negate the first couple of overs — especially with the new ball — you will get bad balls. Shoaib did bowl a few run-scoring deliveries once he was out of steam. But then again just when you thought, he was tired and won’t bowl too fast now, along came a snorter!
Mind games and more
“Fast bowlers always want to set the marker and try to intimidate batsmen. Akhtar was no different in that regard. He would come and say a few words but nothing over the top. At least not with me. He had his run-ins with Viru (Sehwag) but that’s bound to happen when two very aggressive cricketers come together.
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Off the pitch
“He always came across as a party animal but I found him quite down to earth and easygoing. He was always up for a chat and I don’t remember having too many conversations with him but whenever I did, he was always laughing and joking around with Harbhajan or even Laxmipati Balaji. I don’t think I will ever forget the ’99 Calcutta Test match when he got Rahul and Sachin on consecutive deliveries. Two of the most technically sound batsmen and he just got through their defences through sheer pace. Even in 2004, Sehwag had absolutely hammered him in Multan but in the third Test at Rawalpindi, he got him out on the first ball of our innings. Though we won the Test match and the series, Shoaib and the whole Pakistan team applauded our efforts.
I remember on that tour there were a lot of official functions both teams had to attend and it was always fun hanging out with the Pakistan team. There was a lot of rivalry on the pitch but off it they were friendly and warm. Even Shoaib who had this image was quite the opposite when not in his cricketing whites.
Gone with the wind
“I guess injuries took a toll on him in the latter half of his career. And while he was still extremely fast, he lost some of the edge. I remember playing against Pakistan in Calcutta in 2007 and all our batsmen played him extremely well. (Wasim Jaffer got a 200 and both Laxman and Ganguly got 100s). With Shoaib, the thing was that unlike Lee or even Shane Bond, he used to bowl quite a few loose balls when he was not in the mood. That’s why I call him an enigma. One minute he could look below average and the next ball he was just world class!
We played Pakistan quite a bit after the 2004-05 series and if you see all our batsmen got big scores against them. We had Sehwag at the top of the order who used to demoralise the bowlers completely. I think both Sehwag and Sachin played him very well. I thought as an opener I found him a bit difficult to bat against but as a middle-order batsman it was little bit more comfortable.”