Kevin Pietersen recalls Shoaib Akhtar’s 'frightening' spell during England’s 2005 tour of Pakistan

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has revealed that he was shocked to see Shoaib Akhtar bowl at an unimaginable pace during the 2005 Test series against Pakistan.

File image of Kevin Pietersen. Reuters

“My first proper Test tour abroad was Pakistan. It was straight off the 2005 Ashes. That [tour] was frightening. The speed at which Shoaib Akhtar bowled in that series, my goodness!” Cricket Pakistan quoted Pietersen as saying.

Pietersen talked about how a taunt from England’s former all-rounder Andrew Flintoff fired up Akhtar despite having issues with his knee. According to Pietersen, Flintoff told Akhtar, who was not being able to bowl that quick, it was no use looking like Tarzan and bowling like Jane.

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The England player said Akhtar took it to heart. He added, "My goodness! The speed at which Shoaib Akhtar bowled in that Test series, oh my word! Crazy, he was bowling faster at five in the afternoon than he was in the morning. It was crazy, crazy."
A report by Crictracker mentioned that while the visitors were a formidable team, they were blown away by Akhtar, who took 17 wickets in three appearances. Pakistan won the series 2-0.

Kevin Pietersen recently shared a worrying video of people in London flouting social distancing norms and travelling in packed buses during the coronavirus lockdown as well. The video highlighted people moving in close quarters despite the UK government asking them to avoid public transport as a safety measure to restrict the spread of COVID-19.