Shoaib Akhtar Celebrates 42nd Birthday, Wishes Pour In For 'Rawalpindi Express'

Shoaib Akhtar was a nightmare for the best batsmen in world cricket during his time. His pace and bounce were the key ingredients which even kept batting legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara on the hop. Known as 'Rawalpindi Express,' Shoaib's 42nd birthday was celebrated by the cricket fraternity on social media by recalling his greatest achievements. "He's regarded as the fastest bowler of all time, reaching a top speed of 161.3kmph, and claimed 444 international wickets. Happy birthday to the Rawalpindi Express, @shoaib100mph," ICC said.

He's regarded as the fastest bowler of all time, reaching a top speed of 161.3kmph, and claimed 444 international wickets.

Happy birthday to the Rawalpindi Express, @shoaib100mph! pic.twitter.com/plte6FogUa

— ICC (@ICC) August 13, 2018

One of the fans also revealed that every Pakistan citizen has a wrong birth date on their identity cards and he hopes it is not the same with Shoaib Akhtar.

"Habitually, every Pakistani has an incorrect birthday stated on their ID cards and I am hoping the same from you. Anyways, Happy Birthday Quicky! @shoaib100mph #ShoaibAkhtar."

Habitually, every Pakistani has an incorrect birthday stated on their ID cards and I am hoping the same from you. Anyways, Happy Birthday Quicky! @shoaib100mph #ShoaibAkhtar pic.twitter.com/NlwmLKOsm5

— Haseeb Aftab (@Haseeebaftab) August 13, 2018

Shoaib Akhtar, who had clocked at 161.3 km per hour against England in 2003 at Newlands, still holds the record for the fastest delivery in cricket. He is followed by Shaun Tait (161.1), Brett Lee (161.1), Jeff Thomson (160.6) and Mitchell Starc (160.4) in the chart.

Shoaib had claimed 178 wickets in Test cricket, 247 ODI wickets and 19 in Twenty20 Internationals.

He also represented Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for one season.

Topics mentioned in this article

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