Pakistan pace great Shoaib Akhtar was one of the most lethal fast bowlers of his time. Known as the “Rawalpindi Express”, Akhtar terrorised opposition batters with his raw pace, bounce and toe-crushing yorkers for nearly two decades. Akhtar, who played 46 Tests, 163 ODIs and 14 T20Is for Pakistan, retired from international cricket after the 2011 World Cup, owing to knee related issues. However, a video of Akhtar’s lookalike, Imran Muhammad, has gone viral on social media. His reaction reminded fans of Akhtar, who is now enjoying a successful career in cricket punditry.
For the unversed, the video is from a Oman D10 League match between IAS Invincibles and Yallah Shabab Giants. The viral clip, which was posted by a user, highlighted the the uncanny similarity between the two cricketers.
He’s more Shoaib Akhtar than Shoaib Akhtar himself… pic.twitter.com/cXKQGgNgbn
— Prashanth S (@ps_it_is) September 19, 2024
Here’s how internet reacted:
@shoaib100mph that you?
— Aamer J. (@aamer2300) September 20, 2024
Easily the first choice to play Shoaib Akhtar in his biopic
— Cricmatic Insights Zone (@CIZblogs) September 20, 2024
He is from Dera ismail khan
Kpk
— i dont want u…… (@IWantyoumano) September 20, 2024
Imran was 18 when he left for his village in Dera Ismail Khan district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Now 30, he fixes CCTV cameras in Muscat for a living, and also plays franchise league cricket in Oman.
After drawing curtains on his illustrious international career, Akhtar started a YouTube channel, where he gives reviews on International and league matches and Pakistani cricket.
Akhtar, who made his international debut in 1997, took 178 wickets in 46 Tests, the last of which was against India at Bangalore in 2007.
He bagged 247 wickets in 163 one-day internationals and also took 19 wickets in 15 T20Is.
“One of the main reasons for my retirement was that I am not able to wake up early anymore. I have been waking up at 6 am for the past 25 years. And then to bowl to the likes of Sachin and Dravid, they used to tire me all day. So this was one of the main reasons for my retirement – that I can’t wake up early,” Akhtar recently revealed.
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