I bowled with no knees, lost it in 1996-97: Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar made quite an interesting revelation regarding his knee and the constant need for going under the knife back since 1996-97.

In a recent interview, Shoaib reflected on his knee injury and how he played with agony due to pain during his stint with national team. He further added that assuming his knee would have supported him, he would have gone on to become the ‘greatest fast bowler in world cricket’.

“I bowled with no knees, lost my knees in 1996-97. Like I have lost my cartilage and lost the meniscus. My cartilage broke and got finished. So, every time you run, it would hit the bone and damage. And every time you jump and land on the knee, it is going to hurt,” Shoaib Akhtar told on ‘Wake Up with Sorabh’ (YouTube Channel).

"I would have gone on to become the greatest fast bowler in the history of cricket if my knee had supported me and my physical fitness was just like I was in agony. I just had my knee in the place just last year, had to go through 12 operations on my knee. I was working on knee replacement, imagine I’m still struggling,” he added.

The former pacer further reflected on his discussions with former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, who had advised Shoaib to shorten his run up so as to lessen the pain. 

“If I have to die, I’ll die hard. If I shorten my run up, I just won’t look impressive. People won’t get scared. Let me do it because it is very enjoyable,” said Shoaib.

Shoaib concluded his career as arguably one of the best bowlers with a truckload of wickets in his account. Having featured in 163 ODIs, 46 Tests and 15 T20Is, the former pacer claimed 247, 178, and 19 wickets, respectively.