Hindustan Times : Jan 23, 2020, 01:28 PM
Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has hit out detractors for claiming that he praises the Indian cricket team only to acquire more subscribers and earn money. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Akhtar said that he is an unbiased analyst of the game and that he speaks on things that he believes are right. “Just tell me one Pakistan YouTuber who does not praise India when their team does well. Ramiz Raja, Shahid Afridi all praise the Indian side when they do well. Tell me one thing, isn’t it right that the Men in Blue are in fact the number one side in the world, isn’t it right that Kohli is the number one batsman in the world,” Akhtar said.“I have played 15 years for Pakistan and have got all my fame playing for Pakistan. YouTube has not given be fame, Shoaib Akhtar was the fastest bowler in the world and people love me for that. Not only in India, traffic comes to a halt in Bangladesh, I have fans even in Australia,” he added.
The flamboyant pacer also spoke about Virender Sehwag and said that the former India opener speaks in a carefree manner, but then his comments on him trying to pander to Indian audiences do not make much sense.“An old video has gone viral. It has my old friend Virender Sehwag speaking. Well, Sehwag is a casual person and the way he speaks is not very serious. He said that Shoaib Akhtar speaks about India because he knows this will make him money. I have to say only one thing - jitna uske sar pe baal nahi hai, utne mere paas maal hai. I’m saying this in a very funny way, take it as a joke Viru,” Akhtar said.“I do not understand what is the problem people have when I am giving my opinion on matters related to cricket. I have played for Pakistan for 15 years, I am not famous for just doing the YouTube thing. I was the fastest bowler in the world,” he added.