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29 March 2024

BCCI demands apology from Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar in his autobiography, 'Controversially Yours’, criticises Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. BCCI now demads an apology. (Pic: AFP)

Published

BCCI slams pacer Shoaib Akhtar's controversial remarks on Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. The former Pakistani bowler in his autobiography, 'Controversially Yours’, remarked that Sachin Tendulkar was afraid of facing his fast bowling. He said that Tendulkar chickened out during a match played in Faisalabad. He was referring to India's tour of Pakistan in 2006.

Akhtar's comment on Sachin and Dravid have not gone down well with the Indian cricket board. In a report by an Indian news channel, Times Now, BCCI officials have demanded Akhtar should apologise to the players for his "offensive" comments.

IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla was quoted by Time Now as saying, "Has he forgotten how Tendulkar reated him during the Centurion World Cup match in 2003? He was whacked all over the park. He should apologise to both Tendulkar and Dravid for saying what he said in the book." (https://bit.ly/oUzo7w)

In the book, Akhtar has scoffed Tendulkar and Dravid's match-winning capabilities. Sachin and Dravid both refrained from reacting. But BCCI came out strongly in support of the two master and criticised the Rawalpindi express. Rajiv Shukla further said Shoaib shouldn't make such comments about the legends of the game.

Fromer cricketers like Wasim Akram feel that this is a mere publicity stunt by Shoaib to popularise his book before its release. Following the furore over the comments, the book's launch in Mumbai was called off on Saturday and protests continued till Sunday.