Secretly used to take pills and injections to play against India: Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has revealed how he and his teammate Saqlain Mushtaq took pills and injections to reduce knee pain to play against their arch-rivals India during their playing days.

Notably, the India vs Pakistan rivalry used to be at its peak in the 1990s and 2000s. While the former talismanic batter Sachin Tendulkar dominated Akhtar a lot of times, the former pacer also had his fair share on a few instances as well.

"When Saqlain got over 10 wickets - in Chennai and in Delhi too - Saqlain and I used to bet about Sachin's wickets. He said he would get Sachin out. I said I would get him - that's what I had been doing. I said, 'No, I'll do it this time, it's my turn,'" said Akhtar.

"My knees were swollen as the area was filled with fluid. His knees had gone in 1996, and mine gave way in 1997 in front of him. And both of us secretly used to take pills and injections just to be able to play the match. Had any senior known this, they would have thrown out Saqlain. I was anyway on their target,” he added.

Additionally, Akhtar also slammed the Pakistan skipper, Salman Ali Agha’s captaincy in the game against England as they suffered a two-wicket defeat in the Super8 clash. Notably, Pakistan is currently on the verge of the elimination.

“The question I need to ask in three weeks’ time is whether Agha will remain team captain. If you (Pakistan Cricket Board and think tank) had any long-term vision, you wouldn’t have to make this decision three weeks from now. I don’t think he is cut out for this job as a captain. And if you are expecting a miracle from him, or comparing him to someone like Harry Brook—I am so sorry,” Akhtar said on the Game On Hai show.

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