Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar feels pacers of today do not bowl fast anymore as the laws of the game and the rigours of it don’t provide that space.
Shoaib was the first bowler to break the 100mph mark. He retired in 2011 having taken 444 international wickets across the three formats.
“Ten years ago, bowlers would bowl 155kph (96.3mph) and now they’re all of a sudden bowling 135km/h (83.9mph). We now only have a few real fast bowlers around the world. Back in the day, South Africa alone had six.
“The cricket laws don’t allow you to bowl fast now: two new balls, too much restriction, too much cricket, too many Twenty20 leagues, too much money, too many TV rights,” Shoaib told BBC’s TMS commentator Isa Guha and Aatif Nawaz on the BBC’s Doosra podcast.
“Players are now getting smarter and more focused on money; they want to save their careers and legs and play for 10 years — whereas I would fight for that specific series only, I fought for the day.” Akhtar said.
