Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram with teammate Shoaib Akhtar
Former speedster Shoaib Akhtar issued a sensational comment on the issue of corruption surrounding Pakistan cricket when he said that he would have killed former teammate Wasim Akram if the latter had asked him to fix matches.
“I will say it very clear that if Wasim Akram had asked me to do match-fixing, I would have destroyed him or even killed him. But he never said such a thing to me,” Akhtar was quoted saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Akhtar went on to clarify that he was never approached by Akram or any other person with such proposals. The Rawalpindi Express has represented his country in 46 Tests and 163 ODIs and feels that Akram’s brilliant bowling rescued Pakistan through many tough situations.
“I was watching few matches of the 1990s and I was amazed to see how Wasim Akram got Pakistan through impossible situations with his brilliant bowling,” he said on a local television show in Pakistan.
“I played with him for seven to eight years and I can quote many instances where he gave me cover by taking the responsibility of picking up the top-order wickets while leaving the tail-enders for me.”
“He even let me bowl from my preferred bowling end even though he had a lot more wickets that I did,” Akhtar added.
Akhtar also admitted that he did not appreciate Akram much during his cricketing career, which is something that he is not proud about.
“After watching these old matches, I called him and apologised to for not truly appreciating his greatness while playing with him,” Shoaib Akhtar concluded.
This is not the first instance when the bowler has voiced his opinion against the corruption allegations looming Pakistan cricket.
In an interview last year, Akhtar had said, “I was always of the belief that I can never cheat Pakistan, no match-fixing but I was surrounded by match-fixers. I was playing against 21 people (sic) — 11 theirs and 10 ours. Who knows who was the match-fixer.”