As the former Indian middle-order batsman Mohammed Kaif faced Shoaib Akhtar in the first game of the ongoing Legends League Cricket (LLC), the Indian fans got a bit nostalgic remembering the historic ODI series that took place between India and Pakistan in 2004.
Shoaib was a very experienced fast bowler at that point of time and was actually the fastest in the world, while Kaif was a young Indian batsman who wanted to make a mark. While facing Akhtar in one of the games of the 2004 series, Kaif charged towards him despite the fact that Akhtar was bowling full tilt and was cranking speeds in excess of 150 kph.
Akhtar had the last laugh in 2004 as he managed to dismiss Kaif by beating him with pace and inducing an outside edge to be held by the wicketkeeper, but that wasn’t the case in Legends League Cricket, where Kaif faced him again.
Having lost his pace significantly, Akhtar still tried to bounce Kaif out in the LLC game and the ball actually got big on Kaif who tried to charge towards Akhtar, but the only difference this time around was that Kaif wasn’t dismissed and he remained at the crease till the very end to win the game for his team Indian Maharajas.
Shoaib Akhtar had a funny take on the incident after the game
Shoaib Akhtar talked about the incident after the game and said he could not believe that even after so many years, Kaif still tried to charge towards him. The Pakistan legend jokingly said he wanted to “punch” Kaif.
Rawalpindi Express @shoaib100mph🔥
Things that never changed
2004 ↔️ 2022 | Mohammad Kaif walking towards Shoaib Akhtar 💥
#LegendsLeagueCricket pic.twitter.com/YF4ojZGgnb— Nawaz Gilgiti (@MNawazGB) January 22, 2022
Kaif is the captain of Indian Maharajas in the ongoing Legends League cricket where some of the topmost former cricketers are participating. Apart from Indian Maharajas, two other teams in the league are Asia Lions and World Giants.
Mohammed Kaif, despite being involved in coaching now having retired as a professional cricketer long time back, has looked in supreme fitness so far in the tournament and so has some of the other former cricketers, most of whom has not been playing any sort of professional cricket recently.
Imran Tahir is the only cricketer playing in the tournament who recently played highest level professional cricket at the IPL. The likes of Mohammed Kaif and Shoaib Akhtar last played professional cricket many, many years ago and it’s a testimony to their athleticism that despite being away from the game for so long, they have still been able to put on a show for their fans.
