Shoaib Akhtar on Saqlain Mushtaq: “Both of us secretly used to take pills and injections just to be able to play the match. Had any senior known this, they would have thrown out Saqlain”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Iconic 160kph Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar has revealed that spinner Saqlain Mushtaq would have been “thrown out” of the national team had any senior player known he was taking pills and injections to treat his knee pain.
Akhtar noted this occurred Pakistan’s tour of India in 1998-1999 and admitted that he used to take the same pills and injections as he had problems with his knees as well.
“My knees were swollen as the area was filled with fluid. His knees had gone in 1996, and mine gave way in 1997 in front of him. And now both of us secretly used to take pills and injections just to be able to play the match. Had any senior known this, they would have thrown out Saqlain. I was anyway on their target,” the Rawalpindi Express was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Pakistan are currently taking on the West Indies in a two-Test series in Trinidad and Tobago.
Following this, they will travel to England to play three Tests from August 19 to September 13.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
Pakistan Squad for England Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah