Former Pakistan pacer, Shoaib Akhtar and former Indian skipper, Sourav Ganguly have played a lot of cricket against each other and remained rivals on the field but very good friends off the field.
Recently, the speedster reflected back on the time when the two legendary cricketers were part of the same franchise (Kolkata Knight Riders) in the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008.
The world’s fastest bowler said that Ganguly who was the captain of the franchise had supported him when he was passing through a testing time and the head coach, John Buchanan, had serious concerns regarding his fitness issues.
While talking on a show, Akhtar said “I was serving a ban when I joined the KKR camp and hadn’t played matches. John Buchanan told Sourav Ganguly that he doesn’t think I am fit enough. To which Ganguly replied that he has always been unfit. Don’t worry about him. It will be okay even if he’s half unfit.”
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan Cricket Board had imposed a ban on the pacer that forced him to miss several matches of the first-ever franchise cricket competition. However, Rawalpindi Express had played three matches and took five wickets including a four-wicket haul against Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals).
Due to the political tension between the two neighboring countries, Pakistani players do not take part in the Indian Premier League, and Shoaib Akhtar wants to see stars of the two countries playing together.
Recently Shoaib Akhtar had stated that Babar Azam would be one of the highest-paid players in the Indian Premier League if Pakistani players were allowed to take part in the competition.
