Shoaib Akhtar, while responding to a social media poll, talked up his chances of getting Steve Smith out, saying he would have bowled 3 ‘hurting’ bouncers before taking his wicket in the 4th ball.
Shoaib Akhtar claimed he would have got Steve Smith out easily (Reuters Photo)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Shoaib Akhtar said he would have got Steve Smith out with bouncers
- ICC responded to Akhtar’s claims with a meme
- Akhtar had spoken about Smith’s technique in the past
The International Cricket Council (ICC) came up with an oblique reply to Shoaib Akhtar’s latest tweet in which he talked up his chances of getting Steve Smith out.
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar took to social media to respond to a poll on ESPNCricinfo that pitted some of the best in the business from the previous era with bowlers and batsmen from the modern-day.
Virat Kohli vs Shane Warne, Babar Azam vs Glenn McGrath, Ricky Ponting vs Jofra Archer were some of the match-ups that were put up by the portal.
Responding to the post that had also pitted Shoaib Akhtar against Steve Smith, the Pakistan great said he wouldn’t have taken a lot of effort to dismiss the Australian batsman who has been breaking batting records at an unprecedented pace.
“Even today, 3 hurting bouncers and i can dismiss @stevesmith49 on the 4th ball. Lol,” Akhtar said.
Responding to Akhtar’s comments, the ICC came up with a meme involving basketball great Michael Jordan.
Check it out here.
— ICC (@ICC) May 12, 2020
Notably, Akhtar had commented about Steve Smith batting technique after the Australia batsman hit a match-winning 80 off just 51 balls in Canberra against Pakistan in a T20I match.
Akhtar said he was unable to understand how Smith was being effective despite having “no technique” and added that he would have tried to hurt him with bouncers had the Australia star played during his time.
“I am surprised how he does it. He has no technique or style but has bravery. So he is very effective. He reaches the pitch of the ball and was severe on Mohammad Amir,” Akhtar had said.
“I do not know how he does it. If he was playing in my time, I would have definitely hit him (3 or 4 on his face). I would have tried to hurt him.”
As the cricket calendar has come to a halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic, quite a few sports stars are trying to keep themselves busy by being active on social media. Shoaib Akhtar, like always, has been quite active on social media and has been part of multiple live interactions with fellow cricketers in the recent past.