Pakistan cricket great Akram escapes after gunman fires on car

Pakistani cricket legend Wasim Akram said Wednesday he was lucky to escape unscathed when a gunman opened fire at his car after a traffic collision.

Akram, one of the best left-arm fast bowlers ever to play the game, was on his way to coach at a training camp at the city's National Stadium when the incident happened.

"A car hit mine, I stopped him and then his guy stepped out and fired at my car," he said on the Express News channel.

"He was definitely an official, I have noted the number of the car and given it to the police."

Initial reports had said the gunman did not aim at the cricketer. But Akram later said the man had been about to shoot him when someone revealed who he was.

"He tried to shoot me, his gun was pointing at me, then people told him my identity and he fired at the side of my car," Akram told reporters.

"Had the people not told him about me, he would have shot me."

Akram was on his way to conduct a fast bowling camp at Karachi's National Stadium when his car found itself in the middle of a traffic accident, DawnNews reported earlier.

Akram, one of the best left-arm fast bowlers ever to play the game, was on his way to coach at a training camp at the city's National Stadium when the incident happened.

"A car hit mine, I stopped him and then his guy stepped out and fired at my car," he said live on the Express News channel.

"He was definitely an official, I have noted the number of the car and given it to the police."

"He definitely looked like an official," he said of the shooter. "If he can do this to me, what will he do to the common man?"

Senior police officer Munir Shaikh ruled out an assassination attempt or a robbery.

"This was just an incident of road rage," he said. "We have identified the car from CCTV footage and will have the suspect in custody in a couple of hours."

In 2009, a dozen Islamist militant gunmen attacked Sri Lanka's cricket team when it was visiting Pakistan, wounding six players and a British coach and killing at least eight Pakistanis in the city of Lahore.

Pakistan did not host a top-flight international cricket match for six years after that attack. In May, it hosted Zimbabwe for two Twenty20 internationals and a three-match one-day series. 

The shot did not appear to be aimed at Akram, according to media reports.

Karachi is one of Pakistan's most violent and unpredictable cities, racked on a daily basis by ethnic, political, sectarian and criminal bloodshed.

The 49-year-old Akram, Pakistan's all-time leading Test wicket-taker with 414 in 104 matches, is one of the country's best loved sportsmen.

He retired from playing in 2003 and is currently running a Pakistan Cricket Board fast bowling training camp at the National Stadium.

Along with right-arm partner Waqar Younis, he formed one of the most fearsome fast bowling partnerships in cricket history, leading Pakistan to their sole World Cup title in 1992.

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