Former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar once again made the headlines as he spoke about things outside of cricket and this time he had something to say about the budget of the Pakistan Army.
“If Allah ever gives me the authority, I will eat grass myself but I will increase the budget of the army,” said Akhtar in an interview with ARY News.
The ‘Rawalpindi Express‘, regarded as the fastest bowler in cricket history said he does not understand why the civilian sector cannot work in collaboration with the Armed forces.
“I will ask my army chief to sit with me and make decisions. If the budget is 20 per cent, I will make it 60 per cent. If we insult each other, the loss is ours only,” the once feared fast-bowler said.
He feels that the annual budget of the armed forces should be increased significantly and for that civilians like him are even ready to make the necessary sacrifices. Akhtar also urged the chief of armed forces to work together with the civilians.
Akthar had also claimed to ARY News interview that he was willing to take a bullet for his country and had turned down a county stint just because he wanted to fight the 1999 Kargil War.
“People hardly know about this story. I had a 175,000-pound contract with Nottingham. Then in 2002, I had another big contract. I left both when Kargil happened,” Akhtar said.
“I stood on the outskirts of Lahore. A general asked me what I’m doing there. I said war is about to start and we’ll die together.
This is not the first time Shoaib Akhtar has caught everyone’s attention, earlier, the speedster claimed that he had turned down a 175,000-pound county contract with Nottinghamshire to fight the 1999 war against India in Kargil.
“I left county (cricket) twice like this and the counties were shocked. I wasn’t concerned about that. I called up my friends in Kashmir and told them I am ready to fight,” he added.
Ever since India abrogated Article 370 on August 5, relations between India and Pakistan has been complex and largely hostile.
former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar, who has played all formats of the game. Akhtar played 46 Test matches for Pakistan in which he bagged 178 wickets, while in 163 ODIs he had taken 247. Due to the world’s fastest bowler, he was always given a chance in all formats of the game. He also played 15 T20I in which he took 19 wickets. He was given the title “Rawalpindi Express” as he was the fastest bowler in the world.
