Controversy and Shoaib Akhtar go hand in hand; he just cannot keep away from controversies. His latest controversy being his autobiography, ‘Controversially Yours’ has spread like wild fire even before reaching book stores.

Shoaib’s claims are being viewed with mixed reactions, more so negatively both in Pakistan and India.

He is of the view that Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul are scared to face him, or perhaps these are his views for a particular series, but the fact remains that both Tendulkar and Dravid have been outstanding cricketers in their own league but have poor leadership qualities. They may have the calibre to score a century but just how many matches have been won by India, where either of them have scored big, which is what Shoaib has tried to clarify here by saying that they are poor finishers.

As regards Wasim Akram, he (Akram) has been the most outstanding all-rounder the country has ever produced but his credentials as a leader leave a lot to be desired.

The mysterious circumstances under which he backed out of the quarter finals of the World Cup, ‘96, his alleged involvement in fixing matches (he was among the selected players who were imposed with heavy fine by the Justice Qayyum Report), his attitude with fellow cricketers, which led to a players’ revolt in 1993, where all the then top players refused to play under his leadership, citing his bad behaviour towards them and we all know that old habits die hard, something that even Shoaib, who made his debut in the late 90s may have experienced, which he has written in his book.

Shoaib’s decision to launch his book in India has backfired and the Indians, of course, would never stand derogatory remarks for cricketers whom they worship and refer to them as “Gods of Cricket”.

His claims on ball tampering have already been echoed by Imran Khan in his biography, who also went on to say that all English, Australian cricketers etc., tamper with the ball for better results.

MANSOOR RIZVI Karachi