‘Never wanted to be fast bowler’: Shoaib Akhtar reveals pace secrets, says ‘have energy of atom bomb’

Akhtar revealed that he "never wanted to be a fast bowler" credited his “atom bomb” like energy to inspire him to become one.

Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar while sharing a podcast with former Australia pacer Brett Lee revealed few interesting details about him. Renowned as ‘The Rawalpindi Express’ during his playing days, Akhtar used to bowl at a soaring pace and holds the record of touching 161 kph.

File photo of Shoaib Akhtar (Reuters/File Photo)

Akhtar, however, in the podcast states he "never wanted to be a fast bowler" credited his “atom bomb” like energy to inspire him to become one.

The former Pakistan bowler also mentioned that as a child he was constantly ridiculed by his friends but it helped him to channel his focus towards a particular direction.

“(I) Never wanted to be a fast bowler. But I always believed that I am able to do something because I have energy like nobody. I have the energy of an atom bomb that needs to explode somewhere,” said Akhtar while speaking on the podcast.

“I always used to tell my childhood friends that I am something. But the word from my childhood started from - ‘you can’t do it’. [sic]. The minute I started listening to that, I started getting that kick. That was the kind of environment that I was living in. But I said I will go through the walls,” he added.

Akhtar achieved remarkable success during his stint with the Pakistan cricket team. Ever since making his international debut in 1997, the pacer soon developed into a lethal player for his side. He has featured in 46 Tests, 163 ODIs, in which he has scalped 178 and 247 wickets respectively.