The Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhtar was the quickest fast bowler of all time. Shoaib never backed down from a challenge as he was never intimidated. When he was on song, he troubled every batsman of his era including those who are rated as all-time batting greats. Virender Sehwag once said that he asked the speed star to not waste his time in sledging him during an India-Pakistan Test match.
The former India batsman who was batting at 200 Instead asked a frustrated Shoaib Akhtar to try and bowl bouncers at Sachin who was at the other end. Sehwag told this at an awards function to host Shahrukh Khan. This news became extremely popular as everyone believed Sehwag with the way he narrated the story. In a recent interview Akhtar however recently denied these claims of Sehwag.
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Sehwag, while talking about the incident said, “I was batting at 200. Shoaib was tired after bowling for so long. He came around the wicket and started bowling bouncers and taunted me to play a hook shot. Realising he would not stop and continue bowling like this, I asked him to bowl a bouncer at Sachin Tendulkar at the other end. In the next over, he bowled a bouncer at Sachin and he played a hook shot that went for six”.
Shoaib Akhtar while talking with Vimal Kumar in an interview on Hello app said nothing like that happened. The Pakistani pacer explained that he had asked Sehwag about this incident when Gautam Gambhir was also sitting with them. When Akhtar and Virender Sehwag had a conversation regarding this news, Sehwag denied such claims.
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“Do you think I would let someone go if anyone says like that to me? We were sitting in Bangladesh before the 2011 World Cup and I had asked Sehwag about this. Gautam Gambhir was also there go ask him too. I held Sehwag and asked him “Did you say anything like that on TV”, He said no, and backtracked from his remarks,” Akhtar said.
“Gautam Gambhir was sitting alongside him. I told Sehwag clearly that if he comes to know that he has said anything like this, then I won’t spare you. You know I can be bitter at times”, added Akhtar.
