New Delhi: Pakistan cricket team's former star paceman Shoaib Akhtar recently narrated an interesting anecdote from the early days of his cricketing career. In a video posted on Sportskeeda’s YouTube channel, the veteran revealed how taunts from two women encouraged him to become a star.


Shoaib Akhtar is counted among one of the world's most lethal fast bowlers of all time as he troubled the batsmen with his sheer pace, line and length. Shoaib, also known as the Rawalpindi Express, has't lost his popularity a bit even after retiring from cricket.  


Speaking on the YouTube channel of 'Sportskeeda', Akhtar said: “This story is from the early days of my career. I was giving trials for Pindi (Rawalpindi) and was told that I am very aggressive and doubts were raised about my talent as a cricketer. So I used to ask everyone, ‘why are your saying that?’. And I was told, ‘we have never seen such a miracle happen before’. I replied that ‘if you have never seen it happen, then I will make it happen’. But those guys were adamant that it was very difficult. Even the people in the my area said the same.”


Shoaib Akhtar made a special mention of two women living in his locality. He revealed that the two women used to constantly taunt him by standing in a corner and saying that he did not had what it takes to become a star.  He said: "Two ladies in my locality used to constantly taunt me when I used to go for practice. They used to often ask me where I was going. I used to reply that 'I was going to become a star'. Little did I know that these two khalas (aunties) were actually helping me in becoming a star. They used to insult me and taunt every day. They used to tell me, ‘tera kuch nahi hona’ (you are not going to become a star). And I used to reply back, ‘please wait a little, I am the next big thing of the nation."


This year the ICC T20 World Cup will be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is hosting this event.  Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has predicted that the final match of this tournament will be played between India and Pakistan.


The T20 World Cup will begin as soon as the second phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 ends.  Akhtar believes that like the first edition of the T20 World Cup, India will face Pakistan in the final this year.