ICC takes subtle dig at Shoaib Akhtar over his tweet aimed at Steve Smith

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday took a subtle dig at former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar’s claim that even now he can dismiss Australia’s Steve Smith.

“Even today, 3 hurting bouncers and I can dismiss @stevesmith49 on the 4th ball. Lol,” Akhtar wrote on Twitter.

Smith is currently at the top of ICC’s Test batting rankings, just ahead of Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

ICC handpicked a few images to subtly troll Akhtar for his tweet. The first image shows basketball great Michael Jordan with a slight smile on his face, reading something. The image was followed by a screenshot of Akhtar's tweet.

pic.twitter.com/IHqHevy35e

— ICC (@ICC) May 12, 2020

The third image shows Jordan again but this time he is laughing out loud.

ICC's tweet on Akhtar's post soon went viral. Since being posted it has garnered over 6,000 likes.

Akhtar posted a picture by ESPNCricinfo that paired 10 retired cricketers with 10 current superstars and asked fans which contest they would like to watch. One of the options was a battle between Akhtar and Smith.

Even today, 3 hurting bouncers and i can dismiss @stevesmith49 on the 4th ball. Lol https://t.co/6vvmrfFHNK

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) May 11, 2020

It is, however, not the first time Akhtar had voiced his stance on Smith's batting technique. As per a report by The Indian Express, the former Pakistan bowler in November last year termed the Australian star’s batting technique as poor.

Shoaib Akhtar has been making quite a few controversial comments lately. Last month, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) legal advisor Tafazzul Rizvi had filed a defamation suit against the former fast bowler for his allegedly inappropriate comments against him in a YouTube show.

Akhtar had played 46 Tests in which he picked 178 wickets at an average of 25.69. He has also played 163 ODIs in which he took 247 wickets and 19 wickets in 15 T20Is.