‘He requested me not to kill him’: Shoaib Akhtar reveals Muralitharan is the toughest batsman he bowled to

Shoaib Akhtar is considered to be the fastest and deadliest bowler in the history of cricket, owning to his raw pace and aggression.

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When you think of a tearaway fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar is one of the first names that comes to mind. The former Pakistani speedster has given nightmares to many batsmen of his time. Because of his deadly bouncers and toe-crushing Yorkers, facing the pacer was not pleasant for any batsmen.

Shoaib Akhtar is considered to be the fastest and deadliest bowler in the history of cricket, owning to his raw pace and aggression. But the real question, who is the batsman that Shoaib Akhtar has found toughest to bowl.

In a recent interview, the former pacer has himself answered the question. Akhtar has picked Sri Lankan spin legend Muttiah Muralitharan as the toughest batsman he has ever bowled to and fans have never been more surprised.

Sri Lankan spinner used to bat at No. 11. Lower-order batsmen don't pose much of a challenge to speedsters in general, but Muralitharan was one such player who has tormented Akhtar.

Akhtar has revealed that Muralitharan was the toughest batsman he has ever bowled to. He recalled that the ex-Lankan player used to come up to him and request him to bowl fuller, offering to give his wicket away in exchange.

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“Muttiah Muralitharan is the most difficult batsman I've ever faced. I'm not even kidding when I say that. He requested me not to kill him”. He used to say “I’m a skinny guy. I’ll die if you hit me with a bouncer. Pitch the ball up and I will give you the wicket away”. But, “whenever I pitched the ball up he just used to slash hard and tell me that he did that by mistake,” revealed Akhtar.

Muralitharan is the highest wicket-taker in international cricket. However, has scored 1261 runs in 133 Tests and 674 runs in 350 ODI matches. These aren't outstanding stats by any means, but he had a strike rate of more than 70 in both formats.

In his successful international career, the former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar bagged 444 wickets and led Pakistan to several wins. He retired from international cricket following 2011 World Cup, but it didn't stop him from making the headlines. The 45-year-old is frequently in the headlines owing to his outspoken and controversial statements.


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