Playing Cricket in Empty Stadium Like Marriage Without Bride: Shoaib Akhtar

With sports resuming behind closed doors amid empty stands, former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar feels the excitement of the game would be lost without fans. He went on to compare cricket in empty stadiums to marriage without a bride.

“Playing cricket in the empty stadiums may be viable and durable for cricket boards. But I do not think we can market this. Playing cricket in an empty stadium is like marriage without a bride. We need crowds to play games. I hope the corona situation will be normalized within a year,” Akhtar told Helo Live session.

During an earlier session, Akhtar had revealed that he wanted batting legend Sachin Tendulkar to get a hundred during their famous 2003 World Cup clash against India. Tendulkar got out on 98 with Akhtar accounting for his scalp with a well-directed bouncer. However, India won the match played in Centurion by six wickets.

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“I was very sad because Sachin got out for 98. It was special innings, he should have touched the century mark,” Akhtar said.

“I wanted him to get a century. For that bouncer, I would have loved to see a sixer, as earlier he hit.”

In that match, Tendulkar scored an epic 75-ball 98 and surely deserved the ton. Akhtar, on the other hand, went for 72 in his 10 overs spell.