Akhtar hits out at Amir, urges young guns to focus on Test cricket

Pakistan's former fast bowler Shoiab Akhtar has once again hit out at Mohammad Amir over his decision to retire from Test cricket and has urged young fast bowlers to give importance to Test cricket.

“I was not able to comprehend why Amir called for Test retirement, as he only needed to play 13 Tests in two years [ICC Test Championships]. Secondly, when Amir was doing nothing for five years, he should have come to me and asked how should I train? He didn’t come once, and then he announces his retirement and asks for our support, why should we support you,” said Akhtar.

Sharing his journey to stardom and the painful battle with knee issues, Akhtar urged the young Pakistan’s bowling lot to increase their pain threshold if they aim to become legends of the game.

“When I see these young cricketers, I get really disappointed that despite having no injury issues they bowl at 135kph, some who started off at 145kph have now shrunken to 125kph. And now, they don’t want to play Test cricket, as they are too fatigued to do so. They should remember our pain that we went through in our days,” said Akhtar.

“To this day, fans remember when I bowled Sachin Tedulkar in the Test match, to this day spells of Test bowling are remembered,” the speedster added.