Salman Butt: “Shoaib Bhai, despite his injuries, was bowling over 150 kph in the 2011 World Cup in India at the age of 38-39. Such feats are rarely seen these days”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt admitted it was impressive to see legendary speedster Shoaib Akhtar bowling over 150 kph at the age of 39.
Akhtar had a reputation of being one of the scariest bowlers to face during his playing days, and with good reason as he surpassed 160 kph at times.
To date, he still holds the record of the fastest ball bowled in international cricket at 161.3 kph (100.2 mph).
Akhtar featured in 46 Tests during his illustrious career and took 178 wickets at an average of 25.69.
The 49-year-old also represented his country in 163 ODIs and finished with 247 wickets at an average of 24.97.
As for his T20I career, the Rawalpindi Express snapped up 19 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 22.73.
“Shoaib Bhai, despite his injuries, was bowling over 150 kph in the 2011 World Cup in India at the age of 38-39. Such feats are rarely seen these days,” Salman was quoted as saying by A Sports.
The Pakistan team recently toured Australia for a limited overs series and came away with mixed results as they won the ODIs 2-1 but lost the T20Is 3-0.
In their next assignment, a white-ball series against Zimbabwe, they triumphed 2-1 in both the ODIs and T20Is.
The men in green are now touring South Africa and began on a sour note as they were beaten 2-0 in the three-match T20I series.
However, they bounced back in the ODI series as they whitewashed the Proteas 3-0.
Pakistan and South Africa will now play two Tests, with the first match getting underway on December 26 in Centurion.
Pakistan Squad for South Africa T20I Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha
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