4. Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistan
Shoaib Akhtar, the nightmare of every batsman in the late 1990s and early 200s, the fastest bowler ever in the history of the game, is at number 5 on our list. Even superlatives cry foul when called upon to define this guy! There was something about him- his persona, with his heart on the sleeves, as a child even I was cheering Shoaib when other around advise me against it. But even after all this, his legendary two Yorkers silencing the Calcutta crowd, hurrying Nick Knight while becoming the first bowler to clock 100 miles, Akhtar couldn’t really escalate the greatness that he was always primed for. It is a shame therefore that in a career spanning for more close to 15 years, Akhtar could only play 46 tests for Pakistan. Akhtar, one would say went out of his way to bring attention to his antics off-field rather than on it. Career threatening injuries in the later part as he himself claimed in an interview with Cricinfo were a major decrement. If he was fit, he would allegedly bit up his team-mates, get positively tested for drugs and what-not. Akhtar only showed us the trailer and we kept waiting for the full movie for 15 years. But Fast bowling is the toughest task in the sport and we salute him for giving us those eyeball-dropping moments.
