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“Thank God for that, I’m playing for Sachin”: When Shoaib Akhtar got selected for Sachin Tendulkar’s team in Cricket All Stars series by a coin toss

Rishikesh Sharma
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"Thank God for that, I'm playing for Sachin": When Shoaib Akhtar got selected for Sachin Tendulkar's team in Cricket All Stars series by a coin toss

The battle between Sachin Tendulkar and Shoaib Akhtar was loved by cricket fans around the world. Tendulkar was one of the greatest players to ever play the game, whereas Akhtar was regarded as the fastest bowler around. Both of them tried their best to dominate each other.

Akhtar took the wicket of Tendulkar in Kolkata on a golden duck, and he said that Tendulkar’s wicket made him a star. Tendulkar’s six against Akhtar over point in the 2003 World Cup is still fresh in every cricket fan’s mind as well. However, both of them got the opportunity to play together in 2015.

ALSO READ: When Shoaib Akhtar intentionally tried to hurt Sachin Tendulkar

A Cricket All-Stars series was organized in the US, and it was played on baseball grounds. Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar were the captains of their respective sides. Some of the biggest names of the game were involved in that match.

When Shoaib Akhtar got selected for Sachin Tendulkar’s team in Cricket All Stars

The teams of the Sachin’s Blasters and Warne’s Warriors were selected live by draw, but both captains did a coin toss for Pakistan’s pacer Shoaib Akhtar. Tendulkar won the toss and Akhtar was delighted about the same as well. He was elated by the prospect of playing alongside Tendulkar.

Akhtar called Tendulkar the greatest player in history and said that he does not want to play against him anymore. He agreed that people would have wanted both of them to play against each other, but he is tired of bowling to Tendulkar.

“Thank God for that, that I am playing for Sachin and Sachin is playing for me. I am done bowling against him. I have been bowling against him for last 15 years and I was not looking forward to bowling against him, to be honest,” Shoaib Akhtar had said as quoted by Times of India.

“Tendulkar is a brutal force, he is the greatest player history has ever seen. I also never wanted to have a kind of India-Pakistan thing once again.

Tendular’s team had some star players in the team like Virender Sehwag, Brian Lara, VVS Laxman, Shaun Pollock, Glenn McGrath etc, but they lost all three matches of the series.

About the author

Rishikesh Sharma

Rishikesh Sharma

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An engineering graduate and an ardent sports fan, Rishikesh Sharma is covering cricket for three years now after not making peace with a corporate life and has written more than 5000 articles. While Sourav Ganguly made him fall in love with the sport, Brendon McCullum and Gautam Gambhir enhanced it. Apart from cricket, Rishikesh is a huge fan of Liverpool FC. When not watching sports, you will find him riding around Jaipur.

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