Cricket Matches

India Matches

World Cup 2011

World Cup 2011 Photos

facebook

twitter

Journey of the Rawalpindi Express

August 13, 2011 14:14

Some hate him and some admire him. But there are really no half-measures when it comes to Shoaib Akhtar - the maverick pacer who will retire from international cricket after this edition of the World Cup.

Zoom
Shoaib Akhtar now has an autobiography. And he has fired verbal salvos against Sachin Tendulkar saying the batsman was always scared of him and is an incapable finisher of the game. Then again, Shoaib has never been out of the controversial books for too long. A look:
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
Some hate him and some admire him. But there are really no half-measures when it comes to Shoaib Akhtar - the maverick pacer who has retired from international cricket after his side's exit at the hands of India.

After he announced his retirement mid-way during the World Cup, Shoaib did not get a chance to feature in the Pakistan side due to his debated exclusion from the remaining matches. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
If aggression and controversy come naturally to pacers, Shoaib Akhtar has perhaps been the most natural since his ODI debut in 1997. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
Born in Morgah in Rawalpindi, Akhtar's early claim to fame was his pace and the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar on the first delivery he bowled to the master-blaster in the Asian Test Championship match at Calcutta in 1999. He finished with eight wickets. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
Akhtar's fastest delivery was clocked at a sizzling 161.3 km/h against England during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. It is the fastest delivery overall, to have been recorded officially. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
Pace requires strength but to keep it up and be consistent was a problem that haunted Akhtar on a number of occasion. A drop in form owing mainly to fitness issues kept him out of international cricket for long durations. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
Wrist, knee and back injuries plagued the Rawalpindi Express with nagging consistancy but it was his alleged controversial acts and opinions expressed publicly that landed him in serious trouble on more than one occasion. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
In 2003, Akhtar was found guilty of tampering with the ball in his teams match against Sri Lanka. He was banned but he landed himself with another ban when he was accused of abusing South Africa's Paul Adams. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
Temper and Shoaib Akhtar went hand in hand for most parts of his career. The latest example was his verbal altercation with Harbhajan Singh during a 2010 Asia Cup match. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
In 2006, Akhtar with fellow pacer Mohammad Asif was banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board for testing positive to a performance-enhancing substance nandrolone. Though banned for two years, the charges were dropped later and the duo, acquitted. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
The following year however saw Akhtar getting slapped with a Rs 300,000 due to indiscipline during a national camp. He allegedly criticised PCB using foul language for the fine. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
It was not just with opponents and PCB. Akhtar had his fair share of tiff's with fellow players as well. He allegedly hit Asif with a bat in 2007 for disagreeing with his view that Akhtar and Imran Khan shared the same stature in Pakistan!(Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
A year earlier, an Indian official assigned to Pakistan team - Anil Kaul - alleged that Akhtar had slapped coach Bob Woolmer following a fight over the music to be played in the team bus. Both Akhtar and Woolmer however denied it. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
Even with these controversies doing the round, Akhtar made his Indian Premier League debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the inaugural edition. He took four for eleven in the first match against Delhi Daredevils. The glitzy event seemed to suit his style. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
Akhtar has also played for three English cricket county clubs - Somerset, Durham and Worcestershire. Fitness and attitude issues however plagued him here as well. "Players like that are no good to our club," Worcestershire chairman John Elliott had said. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit
Zoom
There is no denying however that Shoaib Akhtar has left a deep impact on cricket through his unconventional ways. In this World Cup, he is yet to explode to his full form. With retirement round the corner, expect him to leave with a bang as well. (Getty Images)
facebook

twitter

whatsapp

reddit

Back to World Cup 2011 photos

ICC Rankings

rank
Team
rating
Australia
128
India
114
South Africa
110
England
100
New Zealand
100
View Team Rankings
Last updated on 28 July 2022

rank
player
rating
1
Joe Root England
923
2
Marnus Labuschagne Australia
885
3
Babar Azam Pakistan
874
4
Steven Smith Australia
848
5
Rishabh Pant India
801
View All Test Batting Rankings
Last updated on 27 July 2022

rank
player
rating
1
Pat Cummins Australia
891
2
Ravichandran Ashwin India
842
3
Shaheen Afridi Pakistan
836
4
Jasprit Bumrah India
828
5
Kagiso Rabada South Africa
818
View All Test Bowling Rankings
Last updated on 27 July 2022

rank
player
rating
1
Ravindra Jadeja India
384
2
Ravichandran Ashwin India
335
3
Shakib Al Hasan Bangladesh
328
4
Jason Holder West Indies
323
5
Ben Stokes England
309
View All Test All rounder Rankings
Last updated on 27 July 2022

rank
Team
rating
New Zealand
128
England
119
India
110
Pakistan
106
Australia
101
View Team Rankings
Last updated on 01 August 2022

rank
player
rating
1
Babar Azam Pakistan
892
2
Imam-ul-Haq Pakistan
815
3
Rassie van der Dussen South Africa
789
4
Quinton de Kock South Africa
784
5
Virat Kohli India
767
View All ODI Rankings
Last updated on 10 August 2022

rank
player
rating
1
Trent Boult New Zealand
697
2
Jasprit Bumrah India
682
3
Shaheen Afridi Pakistan
681
4
Josh Hazlewood Australia
679
5
Mujeeb Ur Rahman Afghanistan
676
View All ODI Rankings
Last updated on 10 August 2022

rank
player
rating
1
Shakib Al Hasan Bangladesh
379
2
Mohammad Nabi Afghanistan
325
3
Rashid Khan Afghanistan
290
4
Sikandar Raza Zimbabwe
263
5
Mitchell Santner New Zealand
250
View All ODI Rankings
Last updated on 10 August 2022

rank
Team
rating
India
269
England
262
Pakistan
261
South Africa
258
New Zealand
251
View Team Rankings
Last updated on 03 August 2022

rank
player
rating
1
Babar Azam Pakistan
818
2
Suryakumar Yadav India
805
3
Mohammad Rizwan Pakistan
794
4
Aiden Markram South Africa
792
5
Dawid Malan England
731
View All T20 Batting Rankings
Last updated on 10 August 2022

rank
player
rating
1
Josh Hazlewood Australia
792
2
Tabraiz Shamsi South Africa
716
3
Rashid Khan Afghanistan
709
4
Adil Rashid England
702
5
Adam Zampa Australia
698
View All T20 Bowling Rankings
Last updated on 10 August 2022

rank
player
rating
1
Mohammad Nabi Afghanistan
267
2
Shakib Al Hasan Bangladesh
232
3
Moeen Ali England
221
4
Glenn Maxwell Australia
183
5
Rohan Mustafa United Arab Emirates
169
View All T20 All rounder Rankings
Last updated on 10 August 2022

IPL 2022 Stats

Player	Runs	AVG
Jos Buttler RAJ	863	57.53
KL Rahul LSG	616	51.33
Quinton de Kock LSG	508	36.28
Hardik Pandya GT	487	44.27
Shubman Gill GT	483	34.50

Full Stats

Now Trending

Select Language

Languages
हिंदी | Hindi

Dark / Light mode

Featured Links
Featured Sports
More Sports
More from NDTV
- NDTV
- Business
- Hindi
- Movies
- Cricket
- Health
- Food
- Tech
- Auto
- Apps
- Trains
- Art

Player	Wickets	Eco
Yuzvendra Chahal RAJ	27	7.75
Wanindu Hasaranga BLR	26	7.54
Kagiso Rabada PUN	23	8.45
Umran Malik HYD	22	9.03
Kuldeep Yadav DEL	21	8.43