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Shoaib decides time is right to call quits

Pakistan pace bowler Shoaib Akhtar will retire from international cricket after the World Cup, closing one of the most colourful careers in the sport.

Shoaib, nicknamed the Rawalpindi Express for his ability to bowl at high pace, has been one of the most feared fast bowlers since making his debut in 1997 and at the age of 35, feels it is the right time to bow out,

“With this announcement it feels like it’s my first death,” he told reporters on Thursday as Pakistan geared up for their final Group A match against Australia on Saturday.

“I have taken this decision after much thought.

“Pakistan’s last match in this World Cup will also be my last. I hope that will be the final on April 2.

“I would have loved to continue, perhaps forever, but I must make way for the youngsters to take over, “ he added at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo after the training session.

Clad in a black suit with a light blue shirt, Shoaib was in a pensive mood throughout the press conference.

“I can’t say I don’t have any regrets,” he said. “I had decided two years back (when I) was going through knee surgery. But I wanted to be with the team when it was going through a difficult time.

“I was planning this for quite some time, right now is the best time. What I’m going to do next, I’m going to tell you at my next press conference. I’ll spend time with my family.”

USED SPARINGLY

Shoaib was replaced by fast bowler Wahab Riaz for Pakistan’s last match against Zimbabwe.

He had conceded 70 runs in nine overs in the 1992 champions’ game against New Zealand, which his team lost by 110 runs.

During the New Zealand match, he clearly showed his disappointment after wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal dropped centurion match winner Ross Taylor twice off his sixth over when the batsman was on zero and eight.

The team coach Waqar Younis said after their seven-wicket victory over Zimbabwe on Monday that Shoaib should be used for matches sparingly as he is in his mid 30s.

“I’m working hard, training hard for (upcoming) matches,” an emotional Shoaib said. “If I get a chance, I will give my best, but looking forward for what comes up. I will double my fitness onwards for this World Cup.”

Shoaib burst on to the scene as the fastest bowler of his generation even though he did not possess the cleanest of actions.

His long run up — and he defied many a coach to persist with that — and the albatross-like celebration after every dismissal made him a spectators’ delight but his temperament often gave team management headaches.

Ball-tampering allegations, numerous disciplinary issues, hitting team mate Mohammad Asif with a bat in 2007, doping accusations and several other controversies and injuries took the focus away from his often devastating bowling.

Since his debut against West Indies in 1997, the paceman featured in just 46 test matches, claiming 178 wickets and he was perceived as vulnerable to the rigours of the game’s longer version.

He was more of a regular in shorter formats, having played 163 one-day internationals so far, claiming 247 wickets.

His obsession with pace was often perceived as detrimental to the team’s cause, especially his long run-up which often put Pakistan at risk of penalty for their slow over rate.

For most part of his career, Shoaib was not considered a team man and was rather portrayed as the problem child of Pakistan cricket with a penchant for night life.

Many observers felt, however, that this World Cup had shown a new, improved attitude from a maturing Shoaib.

“My message to youngsters is don’t give up, don’t give in to the pressure,” Shoaib said at the end of the press conference.

He was embraced by Pakistan journalists, who thanked him for his service to the team and the country.

Here are some key facts about Akhtar nicknamed the Rawalpindi Express:

* EARLY LIFE AND CAREER: — Born in Aug. 1975 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

-- He made his test debut against the West Indies at Rawalpindi in 1997.

-- Widely recognised as the fastest bowler in the world, his fastest recorded delivery reached 161.4km/h.

-- His bowling skills include fast yorkers, swinging deliveries; reverse swing and sharp bouncers.

-- However, he has suffered from hyperextension of his joints, which creates the optical illusion of throwing. Shoaib’s action was cleared by the ICC in 2001.

-- Shoaib demonstrated his first outstanding bowling appearance in the pre-World Cup series against India in 1999 when he took eight wickets in the Asian Test Championship in Calcutta, bowling Rahul Dravid then yorking Sachin Tendulkar next ball.

-- He was a huge draw at the 1999 World Cup in England where he took 16 wickets as Pakistan reached the final.

-- He missed Pakistan’s test series against England in 2006 but returned for the one-dayers in devastating fashion, taking nine wickets at 18.66.

-- The injury-prone Shoaib was left out of the squad for the five-match one-day series in Sri Lanka in 2009 as well as the Champions Trophy probables, raising doubts about his future. — Shoaib has played in 46 tests and 163 one-day internationals. He has taken 178 test wickets and 247 one-day international wickets.

* DISIPLINE PROBLEMS:

-- At the start of his career in 1996 he took 25 wickets on the Pakistan A team’s tour to England. However, the Pakistan manager reported him for indiscipline and he was dropped from the Pakistan one-day squad going to Toronto.

-- In 2003 he was dropped from the Pakistan team after the World Cup and the PCB chairman told him his career was finished if he did not improve his behaviour and discipline.

-- The next year he was disciplined by match referees in Australia for rude gestures against Australian batsmen in the tests.

-- In 2006, he was banned for two years after testing positive for the banned substance nandrolone — an anabolic steroid — in an internal drugs test carried out by the PCB. A three-man appeals tribunal later cleared him of doping offences.

-- In 2007 he had a dressing room spat with coach Bob Woolmer during the second test at Port Elizabeth against South Africa caught by television screens. He was withdrawn from Pakistan’s World Cup squad hours before the team prepared to fly out to the West Indies. In the same year in August he was fined by the team manager and board for leaving a training camp in Karachi.