Shoaib Akhtar: “I will just take the five wickets there and win the match for Pakistan. You can’t be a star without being a match-winner. We used to win games for the country”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan fast bowling legend Shoaib Akhtar said cricketers can’t be classed as superstars if they don’t win matches for their country.
During his illustrious career, Akhtar noted that whenever he was bowling, he wanted to take a five-wicket haul and lead the men in green to victory.
He added that this was the mindset that fuelled him as he wanted to do his best to ensure Pakistan won as many games as possible and were seen as a force to be reckoned with.
“I thought, If I get a spell here, I will run through the batters. I will just take the five wickets there and win the match for Pakistan. You can’t be a star without being a match-winner. We used to win games for the country,” the Rawalpindi Express was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
The national team recently played a T20 tri-series against New Zealand and Bangladesh, which they won after defeating the Black Caps by five wickets in the final.
Their focus will now shift to the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.
The men in green will start their campaign with a clash against India on October 23 in Melbourne.
Pakistan’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood
Reserves: Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir
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