One of the never-ending problems in world cricket has always been about match-fixing. Over the years, we have come across the gentleman game being affected by the match-fixers. Even top-class players were dragged into this shameful act, which led to many disturbances. Speaking of the same, Shoaib Akhtar makes a massive statement saying that he would have killed Wasim Akram if he had asked him to fix the game.
The former fast bowler of Pakistan Shoaib Akhtar stated that he has grown up watching Wasim Akram helping Pakistan to seal victories with his exceptional bowling display. He highlighted the calibre of Wasim Akram in helping Pakistan to come out on top more often than not. It motivated him to do better before making it to the Pakistan Cricket Team.
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I would have destroyed him – Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar further explained that he would have killed Wasim Akram if he had approached him for fixing the games. He made the statement to let people know how much he had trusted Wasim Akram right since his childhood days.
“I was watching few matches of the 1990s and I was amazed to see how Wasim Akram got Pakistan through impossible situations with his brilliant bowling,” Cricket Pakistan quoted Akhtar as saying during a television show.
“I will say it very clear that if Wasim Akram had asked me to do match-fixing, I would have destroyed him or even kill him. But he never said such a thing to me,” he added.
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Wasim Akram covered me many times –
Further, Shoaib Akhtar showered words of praise on Wasim Akram for helping him shape his career at the highest level. The duo had played close to eight years forming a lethal combination for Pakistan across the formats.
“I played with him for seven to eight years and I can quote many instances where he gave me cover by taking the responsibility of picking up the top-order wickets while leaving the tail-enders for me. He even let me bowl from my preferred bowling even though he had a lot more wickets that I did,” he added.
All in all, both Shoaib Akhtar and Wasim Akram finished their international careers as one of the best in world cricket. Akhtar appeared for Pakistan in 46 Tests, 163 ODIs and 15 T20Is in which he picked 178, 247 and 19 wickets respectively. On the other hand, Wasim Akram played 104 Tests and 356 ODIs in which he bagged 414 and 502 wickets respectively.
