‘I’m a skinny guy, I’ll die if you hit me with a bouncer’: Shoaib Akhtar reveals the 'toughest' batsman he had bowled to

Shoaib Akhtar recalled how the ex-Lankan cricketer used to come up to him and request him to bowl fuller, promising to give his wicket away in return.

Legendary fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar had given nightmares to many batters of his generation. His deadly bouncers and toe-crushing Yorkers were nemeses for many. The experts of the game have described Akhtar as one of the toughest bowlers to face. But which batsman had surprised him the most? The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ has answered the question himself and it’s someone who himself had troubled numerous strikers of the cricket ball. He is Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan.

File image of Shoaib Akhtar. (Getty Images)

The Lankan spin legend had mostly batted down the order - at No.11 during his playing days. Generally, the lower-order batsmen aren’t a big challenge for the speedsters but Muralitharan was one such cricketer who had troubled Akhtar. Speaking to Sportskeeda, the former Pakistan pacer revealed that Muralitharan was the toughest batsman he had ever bowled to.

Akhtar recalled how the ex-Lankan cricketer used to come up to him and request him to bowl fuller, promising to give his wicket away in return.

“Muttiah Muralitharan is the toughest batsman I have bowled to. I am not even kidding. He requested me not to kill him. He said, ‘I’m a skinny guy. I’ll die if you hit me with a bouncer. Pitch the ball up and I will give you the wicket away’.

“Whenever I pitched the ball up he just used to slash hard and tell me that he did that that by mistake,” Akhtar said.

During the conversation, Akhtar answered a few more questions. He named three batsmen from the present generation he would love to take wickets of. He took the names of Indian skipper Virat Kohli, along with Pakistan captain Babar Azam and England all-rounder Ben Stokes.

Speaking about which is better among IPL and PSL, he gave a witty answer and said, “I would play PSL for the love of my country and for money, I’d play IPL.”