‘Pain I took for playing for Pakistan’ – Shoaib Akhtar takes pain-killer injections on knee due to delayed operation

Shoaib Akhtar was one of the fastest bowlers during his playing days. The ‘Rawalpindi Express’ was known for rattling batters with his vicious pace and made the lives of the opposition uncomfortable.

But then, all this came with Akhtar putting his body on the line. The right arm tearaway pacer was also plagued by injuries in his career but fought his way through them to represent his country.

And now, Akhtar has taken to Twitter to reveal that there is going to be a two-month delay in his knee operation. The 46-year-old also added that he will undergo all this pain if it means playing for his country.

“The pain I took for playing for Pakistan. But I’d do it all over again if given another chance. Since there’s a two-month delay in my operation, this is what I had to resort to,” tweeted Shoaib Akhtar.

You can see the tweet from Shoaib Akhtar below

The pain i took for playing for Pakistan. But I'd do it all over again if given another chance.
Since there's a two month delay in my operation, this is what i had to resort to. pic.twitter.com/mrcJnLEdEa

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) December 11, 2021

Shoaib Akhtar was one of the greatest pacers of his time

Shoaib Akhtar will go down as one of the greatest pacers of his generation. A bowler who could breach the 150 kmph barrier frequently, Akhtar’s international career lasted 14 years. The right-arm speedster represented Pakistan in 46 Tests, 163 ODIs, and 15 T20Is.

While he picked up 178 wickets in the white flannels for his side, Akhtar also prized out 247 batters in the ODI format of the game. In T20Is, Akhtar took 19 wickets. Akhtar’s battles with some of the great willow wielders of his time like Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara, and Virender Sehwag will be etched in the minds of countless fans for posterity.

Shoaib Akhtar also represented Pakistan in three ODI World Cups in his career. He played his last international match for the Pakistan cricket team in the year 2011.