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Shoaib Akhtar will retire from International game at the end of Worlkd Cup
Shoaib Akhtar will retire from International game at the end of Worlkd Cup
Posted by Spell Bounderon 02:47in
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Shoaib Akhtar will retire from the international game at the end of World Cup, bringing to an end one of cricket's most compelling and mercurial careers. He told his team-mates of the decision at the Premadasa Stadium on Thursday morning, during an emotional gathering in which he delivered a farewell speech and was embraced by fellow players and support staff. Privately, over the last few months, Shoaib had been looking at the World Cup as a final hurrah for a body increasingly unable to cope with the rigours of the international game. The tournament itself has been a mixed one for him: he was outstanding through ten overs in Pakistan's win over Sri Lanka. But after an impressive opening spell against New Zealand he was taken for 28 runs in his final over, bowling a succession of waist high full tosses at Ross Taylor as New Zealand changed the game. Shoaib made his first international appearance in December 1997, against West Indies. He shot to fame in 1999, when he bowled Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar in 1999 in the Asian Test Championship game against India, and continued that form into the World Cup where he was one of Pakistan's most effective bowlers.
