Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar is a Pakistani former international cricketer and commentator, born in Rawalpindi on 13 August 1975. Nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express", he is the fastest bowler in cricketing history, having delivered the fastest recorded ball at 161.3 km/h (100.2 mph) against England at the 2003 World Cup and broken the 100 mph barrier twice. ^{1 2 3 4}

He played for Pakistan from 1997 to 2011, taking 178 wickets in 46 Tests, 247 wickets in 163 One Day Internationals and 19 wickets in 15 Twenty20 Internationals. ¹

Akhtar was born into a Punjabi family in the small town of Morgah in Rawalpindi, Punjab; his father Mohammad Akhtar worked at the Attock oil refinery, and Shoaib was the fourth of five children. A good student admitted to Asghar Mall College, he disrupted his studies to attend trials, started his List A career in 1993/94 and his first-class career in 1994/95, caught the eye of Majid Khan, then the PCB's chief executive, and after a good Pakistan A tour of England in 1996 was rewarded with his maiden Test cap against the West Indies in 1997. ¹

The museum records his family life only in outline: he married Rubab Khan in 2014 and they have two sons and a daughter. ¹

He made his Test debut in November 1997 against the West Indies on his home ground in Rawalpindi and played his first ODI three months later. His run of impressive performances started in 1999, in a pre-World Cup series against India, followed by outstanding performances in Sharjah and at the 1999 World Cup. His most significant performance was in India in 1999, when he captured eight wickets in the Asian Test Championship match at Calcutta, including Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar bowled off successive deliveries — the first ball he ever bowled to Tendulkar. ¹

In the 2005 home Test series against England he regained his reputation as his team's fast bowler, emerging as the series' highest wicket-taker with seventeen wickets, his slower deliveries proving unplayable to the English batsmen. Throughout his career he was regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in the history of international cricket: he holds the record for the fastest recorded delivery, 161.3 km/h, and is one of only three bowlers to have broken the 100 mph barrier, with a delivery of 100.2 mph against England at the 2003 World Cup. ¹

He played for three English county clubs — Somerset, Durham and Worcestershire — with moments of success amid fitness problems, and in the 2008 Indian Premier League he took 4 wickets for 11 runs on his Kolkata Knight Riders debut against the Delhi Daredevils, earning the Player of the Match award. He was selected in Pakistan's squad for the 2011 World Cup and announced during the tournament that he would retire from international cricket at its end, which he did. ¹

This section is reported from the sources and is not a verdict by the museum. The sources report that his career was plagued by injuries, controversies and accusations of poor attitude: he was sacked with other players after Pakistan's poor 2003 World Cup; caught ball-tampering in 2003, becoming the second player banned on ball-tampering charges, and banned for one Test and two ODIs for abusing a South African bowler; sent back from the 2005 Australia tour with a hamstring injury amid rumours of indiscipline. On 16 October 2006 he was suspended by the PCB with Mohammad Asif after testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance nandrolone, and on 1 November 2006 was handed a two-year ban; on 5 December 2006 both were acquitted on appeal by a tribunal that found the testing procedure technically flawed and cited exceptional circumstances. In September 2007 he was banned indefinitely for a fight with Mohammad Asif, and in April 2008 he was banned for five years for publicly criticising the PCB, a ban the Lahore High Court suspended in October 2008. ^{1 3}

After retiring he began a YouTube career with his own channel, where he reviews international and league matches and Pakistani cricket, and works as a commentator. His public significance lies in his fastest-delivery record and his standing among the most compelling fast bowlers of his generation. ¹

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