Would have killed Akram had he asked me to do match-fixing, claims Akhtar

“I was watching few matches from the 1990s and I was amazed to see how Akram got Pakistan through impossible situations with his brilliant bowling,” Cricket Pakistan quoted Akhtar as saying during a television show. “I will say it very clearly. If Akram had asked me to do match-fixing, I would have destroyed him or even killed him. But he never said such a thing to me,” he added.

The Rawalpindi Express also thanked Akram for supporting him during the early days of his cricketing career. “I played with him for seven to eight years. I can quote many instances where he gave me cover by taking the responsibility of picking up the top-order wickets while leaving the tail-enders for me,” said the 44-year-old.

Akhtar represented Pakistan in 46 Tests, 163 ODIs and 15 T20Is in which he scalped 178, 247 and 19 wickets respectively. Akram played 104 Tests and 356 ODIs in which he bagged 414 and 502 wickets respectively.