'Felt weird as he hadn't even played 5 games: Akhtar names India star who 'surprised' him with his cricket knowledge

Shoaib Akhtar had once managed to trick an Indian youngster into testing his game awareness and knowledge of the sport, but was himself left stunned and surprised by the latter's answers.

More than being a talented cricketer, game awareness separates a good player from the best. One can be the most talented of cricketers, but only if the player knows how to approach a situation, especially under pressure, makes him/her a standout. Former Pakistan cricketer and a legend of the game Shoaib Akhtar had once managed to trick an Indian youngster into testing his game awareness and knowledge of the sport, but was himself left stunned and surprised by the latter's answers.

Shoaib Akhtar (Getty Images)

The youngster here is Kuldeep Yadav, India left-arm leg-spinner. Akhtar, in conversation with Sportskeeda, revealed that he had met the 27-year-old at the Dubai airport, although he did not mention the year, saying that he had come up to him for a chat. Akhtar, in a bid to test his knowledge, asked him all sorts of questions pertaining to the game, and admitted that he was amazed with his replies and also felt weird because Kuldeep had hardly played 5-10 games for India. 

“I first met Kuldeep Yadav at the Dubai Airport where he approached to talk to me. And I was really surprised with his cricketing knowledge. He answered and spoke about everything correctly. I was highly impressed and happy that this kid who came up to me had so much knowledge and game awareness as well,” he said. 

“In fact I asked him a lot about the legalities and nitty-gritties of cricket and he answered all of them correctly. Then I told him that I was just asking these questions to check if you have cricketing brain or your are just a talented bowler. I felt weird because he just played 5-10 matches for India and he is already so aware of the game. I was surprised to see the Indian system that kids here are really smart.”

Kuldeep is presently part of the ongoing 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) where he is part of the Delhi Capitals team and is also the second highest wicket-taker so far with 11 dismissals.