With the world coming to a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic, former and current sportspersons have been interacting on social media to keep fans engaged and former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has said that he would love to take up an offer to coach the Indian fast bowlers.
In an interview on social networking app Helo, Akhtar said that he has never stepped back from sharing his knowledge and he would be more than happy to do the same with Indian bowlers.
Asked if he was open to coach the Indian team if such an offer came, he said: “I will definitely. My job is to spread knowledge. What I have learned is (ilm) knowledge and I will spread it. I will produce more aggressive, fast and more talkative bowlers than the current ones who will tell-off the batsmen in a way that you will enjoy a lot.”
Earlier, Akhtar had proposed a series between India and Pakistan to help raise funds to fight the pandemic. While former India skipper Kapil Dev was against the idea, Akhtar found the support of former captain Shahid Afridi.
“The entire world is fighting against coronavirus and we need unity in our region to defeat this common enemy. Such negative comments don’t help at all. I don’t see anything wrong with Shoaib Akhtar’s suggestion for Pakistan and India to play cricket.
“Kapil’s reaction has surprised me. I expected better from him and feel one should not talk like this in these crisis times. Sport is supposed to bring people together and build bridges. It is pretty disappointing,” he said.
Meanwhile, almost all sporting action around the world including the Tokyo Olympics 2020 has been postponed owing to the dreaded coronavirus pandemic.
The virus has so far infected over 3.5 million people while claiming over 200,000 thousand lives globally.
There is still no sure shot treatment of the virus and maintenance of social distancing, self-isolation and hand hygiene remain the only potent weapons of protecting oneself against contracting the infection.
(With inputs from IANS)