What Shoaib's criticism of Sachin, Dravid and Akram says about himself

Shoaib Akhtar's insolence towards the game's legends has been interpreted as a marketing ploy for his new book. I concur. But there might be more to it than borne by this simplistic reaction.


First off, people speaking of the venerable legends have to be respectful. Secondly, it is better not to compare or contrast them. Different people might look upon different players from divergent points of views and it is important to keep someone's disparaging opinions to himself/ herself. I, for one, prefer Mike Hussey over any of the greats. So, to each his own.




Coming back to Shoaib- all of his remarks actually mirror Shoaib's inner frustation for failing to realize his potential. It also portrays a person in denial. A person who will blame everybody but himself for his tribulations.


Akhtar's career has been plagued by his predilection to get into controversial situations- chucking, ball-tampering, fighting, drugs and whatnot. Instead of admitting to his personal demons, he has gone ahead and attacked 3 of the nicest people in the game. His accusations on Akram are downright slanderous. Gentlemen that these guys are, they have let it pass as ramblings of an imbecile and not involved in public slanging, which presumably is what Shoaib planned for. Consumers should think twice before lapping up a book, the only selling point of which- as the name "Controversially Yours" suggests- is controversies