Shoaib Akhtar is a Pakistani cricket commentator, YouTuber, and former cricketer who played all formats of the game over a fourteen-year career. He is recognized as the fastest bowler in the history of cricket, delivering a world record top speed of 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) in a pool match against England during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Akhtar was nicknamed “Rawalpindi Express” and “Tiger” as a tribute to his hometown and fast bowling. He is also the first bowler to break the 100 mph barrier, doing so twice in his career.
Shoaib took a dig at the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Cricket Australia (CA) as he fumed about economic inequality in cricket. Speaking on a YouTube chat show with Geo Cricket, Akhtar alleged that CA let incidents like the infamous Monkeygate controversy pass due to the BCCI being a financial powerhouse.
The Monkeygate scandal
Australia’s two-time World Cup-winning former skipper Ricky Ponting considers the 2008 ‘Monkeygate’ scandal the lowest point of his captaincy stint as he feels he was not in control of what was happened at that time. The scandal unfolded when senior Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was charged with racially abusing Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds during the second Test at Sydney. “Monkeygate was probably the lowest (point in career as captain). Losing the 2005 Ashes series was tough but I was in full control of that. But I wasn’t in full control of what happened during the Monkeygate thing,” Ponting, who led Australia to 48 wins from 77 Tests and 164 triumphs in 228 ODIs, told a ‘Skysports’ podcast.
Harbhajan was eventually cleared of the charge and Symonds’ career went into a downward spiral after the incident.
“It was a low point and also because it dragged on for so long. I remember coming off the ground during the Adelaide Test match and speaking to Cricket Australia officials about the case because the hearing was at the end of the Adelaide Test match,” Ponting added.
The incident created a lot of bitterness between the two teams with India threatening to pull out of the tour before the ICC intervened.
Akhtar’s response to that
“Sometimes they get easy wickets in Melbourne, someone calls another person a monkey but gets away with it, there are threats to boycotting the series. I am asking the Australians, where are their ethics?” Akhtar said.
“You made kids cry for scratching a cricket ball and they got away by calling someone a monkey. When they (BCCI) threatened to end the series, they (Cricket Australia) said no such incident happened. Are these your moral grounds?” the legendary pacer fumed.
“Forget all this drama, just say that we need money. The money comes from the BCCI, you quietly keep taking it,” he said.
ICC T20 World Cup 2020 Postponed Due To Coronavirus Pandemic
The 2020 T20 World Cup has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Monday. The tournament was scheduled to be played in Australia between October 18 and November 15 this year. “The International Cricket Council (ICC) today confirmed the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in Australia 2020 has been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” ICC said in its statement. The ICC also revealed revised dates for their three upcoming global events in men’s cricket, including the 2023 World Cup which is to be played in India.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 will be held October – November 2021 with the final on 14 November 2021, the statement said.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 will be held October – November 2022 with the final on 13 November 2022, it added.
The 50-over World Cup in 2023 will be held in India October – November 2023 with the final on 26 November 2023, it said.
The ICC did not mention where the T20 World Cups in 2021 and 2022 will be held.
The 2021 T20 World Cup was originally slated to be held in India.
The ICC said that it “agreed to bring clarity to the calendar and give the sport the best possible opportunity over the next three years to recover from the disruption caused by COVID-19.”
“We have undertaken a comprehensive and complex contingency planning exercise and through this process, our number one priority has been to protect the health and safety of everyone involved in the sport,” ICC Chief Executive Manu Sawhney was quoted as saying in the statement.
“The decision to postpone the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup was taken after careful consideration of all of the options available to us and gives us the best possible opportunity of delivering two safe and successful T20 World Cups for fans around the world,” he added.
Akhtar also had a few words about the T20 World Cup being postponed, with reports of the IPL taking place in the September-November window instead.
“T20 World Cup could have also happened, but I had already said this earlier that they won’t let it happen. IPL should not be damaged, let the World Cup go to hell,” Akhtar said.
Also Read : News Highlights From July 2020
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