Two icons of the game, Virender Sehwag and Shoaib Akhtar entertained fans in their on way during their active days. But, as retired cricketers, Sehwag and Akhtar continue to give fresh doses of entertainment to fans through their banter. In a video shared by Akhtar on social media, Sehwag could be seen making fun of the former Pakistan star's run-up. Sehwag and Akhtar, despite playing for two rival teams, have excellent camaraderie with each other, and it was visible in the video shared by the latter.
"Hamaray pyaray Viru bhai @virendersehwag yeh batatay huay k mera lamba run up ko kitna intezar kerwata tha. And he feels it was a big distraction," Akhtar posted on 'X' (formerly Twitter).
Sehwag said "I would keep looking down, knowing that it would take 10-15 second for him to finish his run-up". Akhtar asked the former India opener if his long run-up distracted him?
Sehwag then replied, "A lot of thoughts would run in mind. Will he hit my toes or a beamer on my head? He will hit somewhere."
Sehwag ended his career as one of the most prolific Indian batters.
In Tests, he played 104 matches, scoring 8,586 runs at an average of 49.34. In ODIs, he aggregated 8,273 runs from 251 games and a strike rate of 104.33. In 19 T20Is, he amassed 394 runs.
Akhtar, on the other hand, played 46 Test matches with an average of 25.69, taking 178 wickets. His ODI career lasted for 163 games in which he took 247 wickets at an average of 24.97. In T20Is, he got to play a total of 15 matches for Pakistan, averaging 22.73 with 19 wickets.