Shoaib Akhtar's lunatic approach in promoting his book has clearly demonstrated how overseas cricketers have time and again adhered to the cheap gimmick of targeting Indian cricketers for this purpose.
It isn't for the first time that Indian cricketers have been indicted by their counterparts abroad. Here's the lowdown on some of the star players who have indulged shamelessly in this practice to publicise their memoirs.
Shoaib Akhtar stooped to a new low by questioning the world-class status of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
In his just-published autobiography Controversially Yours, the temperamental Pakistan speedster has accused Tendulkar of being scared to face his scorching pace on a slow Faisalabad track. He also claimed that Tendulkar and Dravid were not match-winners nor did they know the art of finishing games.
"...Vivian Richards, Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara and the likes of them are great batsmen who dominated with the bat and were truly match-winners. Initially, when I bowled against Sachin, I found these qualities missing. He might have had more runs and records, he lacked the ability to finish the game," he said in the book.
Sachin Tendulkar declined to comment on Shoaib Akhtar's remark that he and teammate Rahul Dravid did not have the ability to finish matches. "It is below my dignity to react to Shoaib's comment," Tendulkar was quoted as saying by television channels.
Text: Suvendu Mohanty (with inputs from agencies)
Images: AFP
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