Born on August 13, 1975, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Shoaib Akhtar is one of the best pace bowlers of his generation. As a pacer, he has set quite a few records with his bowling and was the first bowler to reach the 100 miles per hour benchmark in the history of cricket a feat he has achieved two times in his career. He also has a record for the fastest delivery bowled at 161 kmph. Legends League Cricket 2022 Schedule, Teams, Squads, Live Streaming Details and Everything We Know So Far About the Inaugural Edition of the T20 Competition.

Shoaib made his test debut against West Indies in his hometown of Rawalpindi in November 1997. In the year 1999, he was at the top of his game and his most significant performance was against India when he bagged eight wickets in the Asian Test championship match in Calcutta. This included the dismissal of Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar in two successive deliveries.

In the early 2000s, he was continuously on and off in the Pakistan International squad, due to his poor performances and lack of morale. But in 2005, in the home series against England, he was at his absolute best as a pacer which earned the admiration of the English captain Michael Vaughan while becoming the highest wicket-taker of the series.

He has also played in England County Cricket in the early 2000s for clubs such as - Somerset, Durham, and Worcestershire. He made his domestic cricket return at IPL in 2008 with Kolkata Knight Riders and as one of the best performers that season. So as the former Pakistan cricketer celebrates his 47th birthday, let's look at some lesser-known facts about him.

Lesser-Known Facts About Shoaib Akhtar

  • Shoaib is the first bowler to record a speed of 100 miles per hour

  • He is the only bowler to reach the 100 mph speed twice in international cricket

  • He has played 46 test matches, 163 ODI’s, and 15 T20I’s for Pakistan

  • Akhtar has taken 10 wickets in a Test match two times in his career

  • He has bowled the fastest delivery ever recorded at 161.3 kmph

  • Including all formats, he has reached the five-wicket haul in 16 innings

  • After his retirement from international cricket, Akhtar wrote his autobiography “Controversially Yours”

As he commentates on live cricket matches and with his youtube reviews, Shoaib Akhtar continues to bless us with his knowledge and make the game easier to understand. Even after heap controversies which gained his autobiography the title “Controversially Yours” the pacer has set many records to his name and always will be considered one of the best bowlers in cricket.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2022 07:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).