SHOAIB Akhtar is without doubt one of the greatest bowling talents to have ever graced the cricket pitch. Till date the record holder for the fastest delivery ever at approximately 161 kmph, he has struck terror in the hearts of many batsmen in his on-again off-again career. With over 400 international wickets and numerous match winning spells, one gets the feeling that off-pitch controversies curtailed the career of someone who could easily have been considered one of the greatest fast bowlers of this generation. Unfortunately, controversy has always dogged the ‘eagle’ (his favorite fauna species), and his latest salvo may be the most damaging yet.
Controversially Yours, Shoaib’s apparent autobiography does struggle to ignite one’s interest, and the confusion gets exacerbated because the book appears to be part fiction and part truth, sprinkled with fantasy and delusion. More of an authorized biography, it unfortunately doesn’t deal with topics that would have endeared him to a mass audience. Instead, it appears to be inspired by the works of three contrasting authors, and the attempt to create a masterpiece wherein Gregory David Roberts meets James Frey, with a healthy dose of Andre Agassi appears to have crash-landed. It’s the story of the boy who could, and whose attempts at greatness were always thwarted by those who misunderstood him, or were envious of his destined greatness. This is extremely unfortunate, since I’m sure Shoaib himself has gone through much introspection, and is grateful to numerous individuals who helped him reach the podium one bouncer at a time. Similarly, while he aims to compliment many players in the Indian and Australian squads, the curveballs and googlies that he throws at many of his teammates and cricket administrators would make even a pitcher or spinner proud. The chances are that he has genuine respect and caring for many individuals, but that really doesn’t come out in this book.
The book seems to indicate that he is a man who feels that he deserved more than he got, but unfortunately he doesn’t deal with the controversial aspects, or necessarily accept the blame for much of his trysts with the valleys of his career path. The issue I have with this book is that he tries to simply do too much with it, and by over-shooting the parameters of this book, the end result is garbled and somewhat misguided. The chapters ‘Trial by fire’ and ‘A Star is born’ are good examples of a vain attempt to create a bestseller. I’m sure he’s had it extremely tough, and his upbringing wasn’t easy, but the need to make himself appear a Superhero as the misunderstood and tormented average Joe who attains superpowers due to his unsurpassable feats on the cricket pitch blur the lines between fiction and reality. His superpower would be the at times unhealthy obsession with the 100 mph ball- a recurring theme throughout the book. From the book, it appears that his singular goal was to be the fastest bowler in the world, and one wonders if that took its toll on his fitness and overall statistics. Also, the episodes concerning Aziz Khan, the tongawala, seem etched in his memory, but play little part in any aspect of the book, except to highlight how despite becoming famous, he still remembered the people who were good to him. It would be a lot more heartwarming if the purpose behind the narrative wasn’t this blatant.
As a literary work, the book struggles to enthrall the reader. The sequences of events in the afore-mentioned chapters seem to lapse spatially and inter-temporally. Shoaib appears to have completed his initial education, and also managed to go from being a nobody to a super-talent in cricket all in a short two year span from 1994 to 1996. I’m not sure that’s possible but mine is not to question the chronology of events.
There are poignant moments, but those are either lost in translation or in the ‘world against me’ message that spews forth throughout the 271 pages. Like most super-talents his journey has been fraught with insecurity, riddled with mood-swings, and unfortunately in an implosive environment as the PCB had been during Shoaib’s career, he never really did get the firm and disciplined mentoring that he desperately needed growing up. While the classy Tendulkar and the indulgent Dravid will likely ignore this ‘literati fare’ and not distinguish it with a retort, one can only hope the Rawalpindi Express’s countrymen can indulge the speedster by turning a deaf ear and blinders to his attempts at making a difference to the world of cricket. The fact remains that he wasn’t able to shrug off the inevitable curse of being the prodigal son of Pakistan cricket, each ill-fated return at a time. He has effectively closed the doors to any future in Pakistan cricket in any capacity with this book, and stands a realistic chance of being sued for defamation by a host of individuals whom he has recklessly mentioned with a sprinkling of abandon.
This book is his attempt to be understood but what it has served to do is effectively terminate his future career in cricket, given the extent of whistle-blowing he has done in it. This is sad, because he was a serious force in world cricket during the late ‘90s to the early 2000’s, and can impart much to cricket in Pakistan and beyond. But, in the castle that Shoaib built, he has clouded his future once again. And that is the biggest shame of all for the sore eagle that has crash-landed abruptly.
Controversially Yours
Shoaib Akhtar
Harper Collins, 2011
Rs 499, 272p
