Watch: Video Of Shoaib Akhtar's Lookalike Takes Internet By Storm. Reminds Fans Of Pakistan Pacer's Early Days
Shoaib Akhtar retired from international cricket after the 2011 World Cup, owing to knee related issues.
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar was one of the most daunting fast bowlers of his time. Known as the "Rawalpindi Express", Akhtar terrorised opposition batters with his pace, bounce and toe-crushing yorkers for nearly two decades. Even after his retirement, several players, including Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, have admitted that Akhtar was by far the most difficult bowler to tackle. Now, a video of his lookalike, Imran Muhammad, has gone viral on social media.
Imran's hairstyle and action reminded fans of Akhtar from his early days. In the video, Imran can be seen targetting the batter with a vicious bouncer.
Omans akthar pic.twitter.com/MIeX6fFkBW
— square Leg (@bookcric) September 6, 2023
Oman's Speedster Mohamed Imran looks exactly like Shoaib Akthar in his early days. Even the bowling action looks very similar. All the best for him. @shoaib100mph pic.twitter.com/wZ8nPQcFmV
— Nibraz Ramzan (@nibraz88cricket) September 6, 2023
Waah! Maza aa gaya dekh ke.. Brought back the old days...
— Zalak Kansara (@amdavadiZalak) September 7, 2023
Shoaib Akhtar have some explaining to do
— ammar (@chriedfickken) September 6, 2023
Shoaib Akhtar had one of the most iconic actions. No doubt.
— Aniket Jaiswal (@aniketjazz) September 6, 2023
The video is from an old Oman D20 League match between Azaiba XI and Bousher Busters.
Akhtar retired from international cricket after the 2011 World Cup, owing to knee related issues.
After drawing curtains on his illustrious international career, Akhtar started a YouTube channel, where he gives reviews on International and league matches and Pakistani cricket.
Akhtar, who made his international debut in 1997, took 178 wickets in 46 Tests, the last of which was against India at Bangalore in 2007.
He bagged 247 wickets in 163 one-day internationals and also took 19 wickets in 15 T20Is.
"One of the main reasons for my retirement was that I am not able to wake up early anymore. I have been waking up at 6 am for the past 25 years. And then to bowl to the likes of Sachin and Dravid, they used to tire me all day. So this was one of the main reasons for my retirement - that I can't wake up early," Akhtar recently revealed.
Pakistan Cricket Team
Oman