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'It's like comparing any Indian hero to Shah Rukh': Ex-PAK skipper reacts to star pacer's comparison with Shoaib Akhtar
The former Pakistan captain reacted to the a comparison between country's star pacer with Shoaib Akhtar, following impressive outings in the T20I series against England.
The T20I series between Pakistan and England is poised for a thrilling finish, with the current scoreline reading 2-2 after four matches. The fourth T20I saw a dramatic victory for Pakistan, with their pace attack shining in a three-run victory over England. While Mohammad Nawaz and Haris Rauf picked three wickets each, Mohammad Hasnain took two while Mohammad Wasim also had a dismissal to his name.
England were in the driving seat in the run-chase, having scored 24 runs in Hasnain's 18th over of the innings; however, Haris Rauf bowled a brilliant next over as he took two successive wickets, while conceding only five runs. With 4 required off the final over and merely a wicket in hand, Reece Topley was run out by Shan Masood on the second delivery for Pakistan to register a series-levelling second win.
Following the game, Haris Rauf was lauded for his impressive performance; however, during a YouTube live session, a fan asked a rather unusual question to former captain Salman Butt as the latter had a discussion about Haris. The pacer, who clocks over 150kph with significant consistency, is widely seen as one of the fastest bowlers among the current generation and the fan asked the reason behind Haris not being as famous as the likes of Shoaib Akhtar.
Butt let out a chuckle at the question before explaining the reason for the same.
“It's just like comparing any Indian hero to Shah Rukh Khan or Amitabh Bachchan. You don't become like that overnight. Players like Shoaib Akhtar have changed the Test match in 2-3 overs. Haris hasn't even played Tests. You don't become famous just like that,” said the former Pakistan skipper.
“In Akhtar's last match in his career, he had clocked 159.8kph. Here, Haris is still young and I don't remember anyone, let alone him, bowl that quick. Haris is famous, he is also a star of Pakistan, but you can't become a Shoaib Akhtar or Wasim Akram in 2-3 games, or playing in only one format."
Butt further compared the two, stating that Haris needs to first survive a five-day international match before the comparisons can be made.
“You have to play Tests. You have to play five days, you have to clock 150kph in morning, afternoon, and evening sessions. This isn't like bowling 4 overs in T20s. You just can't compare on the basis of T20Is. You should last five days first, right now we are talking about resting after 4 T20s! So, there's a lot more to achieve,” said the former Pakistan captain.
