Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar was a Pakistani fast bowler who holds the record for the fastest recorded delivery in cricket history at 161.3 km/h.

Shoaib Akhtar was born on 13 August 1975 in Morgah, near Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan, into a modest household where his father worked at the Attock Oil Refinery, and grew up running barefoot for miles across rugged terrain, unknowingly building the athleticism that would define his career. Akhtar made his Test debut against the West Indies in 1997, and developed into the fastest bowler in the history of cricket, delivering the officially recorded fastest ball ever bowled, at 161.3 kilometres per hour, against England at the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Akhtar, nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express," produced one of the most iconic passages of bowling in the sport's history during Pakistan's 1999 tour of India, clean-bowling Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar with consecutive deliveries at Kolkata. Akhtar retired from international cricket in 2011 with 178 Test wickets and 247 ODI wickets, and has since built a prominent career as a broadcaster, commentator, and YouTube personality, remaining one of the most recognisable and outspoken figures in Pakistani cricket.

Akhtar was renowned for his raw pace and ability to bowl consistently above 150 km/h, generating steep bounce and creating genuine fear among batsmen. His bowling action was explosive and athletic, delivering thunderbolts with a long run-up and aggressive follow-through. He possessed a lethal bouncer and yorker, making him particularly dangerous in limited-overs cricket.

Akhtar revolutionized fast bowling by pushing the boundaries of speed and proving that extreme pace could be sustained at international level. His record-breaking deliveries inspired a generation of fast bowlers and elevated the importance of speed in modern cricket.

• Fastest ball ever bowled in international cricket (161.3 km/h, 2003 World Cup)
• ICC World Cup finalist 1999