The Legends Cricket League is a platform for former cricketers to rekindle their days of yore, and former Pakistani speedster Shoaib Akhtar sure made the opportunity count.

Representing the Asian Lions against India Maharajas, Shoaib Akhtar was back to his fiery best bowling at rampant speeds and troubling the veteran Indian batters.

During the match, Akhtar had the opportunity to bowl to a player whom he knows very well, former Indian middle-order batsman Mohammad Kaif. Kaif and Akhtar go a long way back. In fact, during the 2004 bilateral ODI series, Kaif and Akhtar had a go at each other as the India batter’s approach of giving him the Pakistan pacer the charge did not go down well the bowler.

However, Thursday saw a repeat of it as Kaif constantly walked out of the crease to Akhtar during their face-off. After the match, Akhtar, in the post-match interview jokingly said that he wanted to punch Kaif for once again walking down the wicket to him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JVm6lxnjaE

“Mohammad Kaif was walking towards me again. I just feel like punching him. Because I have told him many times in the past ‘do not walk at me’, but he did that again,” Akhtar said following the Maharajas’ six-wicket win over the Lions.

Akhtar is back on the cricket field days after losing his mother and the former Pakistan speedster said that returning to a place that gave him so much finally put a smile on his face after the last few testing days.

“It was fun. I lost my mother three weeks ago, but today I had a smile on my face, for the first time since the demise of my mother. But this gives me great satisfaction – bowling, running in and bowling fast,” Akhtar said.

“I was trying to put up a good show for the people. As you know, people like me having a long run-up not knowing the fact that I have an injured knee, but I tried my level best in the last over to get Yusuf Pathan out. I was hoping to get my team back in the match but unfortunately that did not happen. He played way too good.”