Shoaib Akhtar born on 13 August 1975 in Rawalpindi, Punjab and is a Pakistani right arm fast bowler and is one of the fastest bowlers in the world. He set a world record by achieving a 161.3 kilometres (100.2 mph) bowling speed, twice at a cricket game. His ability to bowl fast yorkers and sharp bouncers have made him lethal, even on dead pitches.

Cricket career

Shoaib's run of impressive performances started in 1999 in a pre-World Cup series against India when he shot to prominence. It was followed by outstanding bowling displays in Sharjah later in 1999 Cricket World Cup. His memorable performance came in India in 1999 when, as a newcomer to the Pakistan team, he took eight wickets in the Asian Test championship match at Calcutta – including the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid off successive deliveries. This was Shoaib's first encounter with Sachin Tendulkar in which Shoaib bowled him for the first ball he delivered to Sachin.

County cricket

Shoaib has played for three counties in English county cricket: Somerset (2001), Durham (2003 and 2004) and Worcestershire (2005). He did have his moments of success (for example, taking 5-35 for Durham against Somerset in the National League in 2003, and claiming 6-16 in the same competition for Worcestershire against Glamorgan years later) but he suffered from fitness problems, as well as a perception that he was less than interested in his task.

Indian Premier League

Shoaib made a strong comeback in his first game in the IPL for the Kolkata Knight Riders against the Delhi Daredevils. Defending a low score of 133, Shoaib took four top order wickets which ultimately led to the Daredevils being restricted to 110.