Monday, February 14, 2011

World Cup defining moment for Pakistan - Shoaib

Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar has called the upcoming World Cup his last, claiming it to be the "defining moment" of Pakistan cricket and perhaps of his own career. In a characteristically free-wheeling chat, Shoaib reaffirmed that he wanted to stay fit throughout, and end the tournament with the trophy in hand.
"Is this the twilight of my career? Yes. It is very special, playing in the sub-continent's World Cup," Shoaib said in Dhaka. "I am not sure about how long I'm going to be playing, but I will try to make sure it is full of memories".
"My personal target is to play every match and to leave 45-50 days after winning the World Cup," Shoaib said. "Obviously there's a huge difference between being 26 and 36. I have experience now but at the same time, I'm still bowling very quick, touching 145-150 kph easily." Shoaib used several adjectives to describe the Pakistan team ranging from "dangerous", "the most balanced" and the one having the cause it needs, but what stood out was him using the word "hurt" to describe the side.