'Had I been the fittest guy, I would’ve...': Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar makes big claim

Pakistan has produced some big names in world cricket, especially in the pace department. Shoaib Akhtar is one of the most popular names in the cricketing fraternity who helped Pakistan win several games with his pace and bounce. During his playing days, he troubled many batters and had intense face-offswith some iconic players such as Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Steve Waugh, etc.

Akhtar had an action-packed career, full of ups and downs, and ended with a total of 444 international wickets from 46 Tests, 163 ODIs and 15 T20Is. He remains vocal on various aspects of the game to date and recently made a big claim.

Speaking to The Guardian, the 47-year-old asked the interviewer when he was the happiest in life. After getting response from the journo who said, "Erm, I’m not sure. The birth of my child?", Akhtar replied, "Right, increase that by a thousand and it’ll be somewhere near what it feels like to bowl truly fast. If you get a wicket after all that effort, when the ball hits the stumps, the sound of it goes inside your soul and explodes like an atom bomb. That’s true happiness. Every time I turn on the TV, I say: ‘Is there anyone out there who can step up? Please take this record away from me,’ I’ll be the first to fly out and shake them by the hand." He added, "Had I been the fittest guy, I would’ve been the greatest ever."

On England returning to Pakistan after 17 years, Akhtar stated, "It’s fantastic that England are coming back with a strong side for a full-fledged series. It’s been a long 17 years since they played Test cricket in Pakistan back in 2005 … their confidence was skyrocketing but I soon put paid to that!" At that time, Akhtart wreaked havoc and accounted for 17 wickets in three Tests, and Pakistan won the series 2-0.

England's tour of Pakistan is set to kickoff on December 01 with the three-match Test series opener in Rawalpindi. However, with over a dozen of English players unwell due to some virus, the tour opener might be postponed by a day or two. A final decision will be out soon.