Shoaib Akhtar, commonly known by the nickname, 'Rawalpindi Express', is one of the greatest bowlers in the history of cricket. The Pakistani bowler still has the record of producing the fastest delivery in international cricket's history. For the unversed, Shoaib Akhtar's fastest delivery of 161.3 kmph (100.23 mph) came in the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup in a match between Pakistan and England.
In all these years, so many prolific bowlers have tried to beat Shoaib Akhtar's record, but no one has managed to surpass it, a record created by 'Peak Shoaib Akhtar'. Courtesy of his ability to throw the ball at such a speed, Shoaib Akhtar was considered one of the deadliest bowlers in world cricket during his playing days. Not only this, he has also been associated with a series of controversies both on and off the pitch in his playing days.
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It's a well-known fact that Shoaib Akhtar's temperament has also been a major part of most of his controversies, as there were many instances in his career when he left his cool during matches, leading to fights and war of words. From his remarks on legendary cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar to the 2006 Nandrolone scandal, Shoaib Akhtar has been controversies' favourite child.
While most of the controversies in his life were around cricket, a few threw some light on his personal life. For instance, it was back in 2019 when digital publications and sources started speculating that Shoaib Akhtar was once madly in love with Bollywood actress, Sonali Bendre. Not only this, some media reports even claimed that the Pakistani bowler used to keep the Indian actress' photograph in his wallet.
However, things took a disturbing turn when some reports speculated that Pakistani bowler, Shoaib Akhtar reportedly once stated in an interview that he has a huge crush on Bollywood diva, Sonali Bendre and he wanted to marry her. Further in the same interview, Shoaib allegedly also added that he would kidnap the actress if she would deny his marriage proposal.
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Soon, the alleged statement was all over the headlines, and people started asking questions from Shoaib Akhtar over his alleged disturbing statement about Sonali Bendre. After a lot of waiting, it was on September 6, 2019, when the Pakistani cricketer uploaded a video on his Facebook page in which he answered all the questions related to reports of him being in love with Sonali Bendre.
From revealing that he had never met Sonali Bendre in his life to condemning all the reports speculating that he wanted to marry the actress, Shoaib Akhtar slammed all the publications that ran the fake news without a single piece of evidence. Not only this, Shoaib also rubbished his marriage rumours with another Bollywood actress, Dia Mirza.
Click here to watch the video.
However, in the same video, Shoaib Akhtar admitted that he became a fan of Sonali Bendre after learning about her battle against cancer. Lauding the actress for her willpower, Shoaib requested all the media publications to stop publishing such news articles, and instead, they should support her after her exhausting battle against cancer. The cricketer's move to end all the speculations with a strong statement received much praise from the netizens and closed the entire case once and for all.
What are your thoughts on this controversial sequence between Shoaib Akhtar and Sonali Bendre? Let us know.
Also Read: Shoaib Malik Revealed Sania Mirza Ate A Lot Of Apples During Pregnancy To Have A Fair-Skinned Baby
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