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Controversially Yours: An Autobiography (2011)

by Shoaib Akhtar(Favorite Author)

3.68 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

9350291282 (ISBN13: 9789350291283)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Harper Collins India

review 1: "How many diamonds can you retrieve from one single mine; there has to be an end somewhere. I don't see any natural fast bowler after me." - Shoaib AkhtarHumility has never been the Rawalpindi Express’ strength and this is evident in every page of his autobiography. In one paragraph,he compares his looks to that of Indian actor Salman Khan and in another,he avers “I was the star performer,so you can imagine how many of those girls crowded around me”. This self-obsession reaches its peak when he strongly feels that had he been a part of the 2007 world cup team, he would have been charged of Bob Woolmer’s death!Take away this shameless vanity and what emerges is a disturbing portrait of Pakistani cricket where captains are spineless slaves, one fast bowler schemes ag... moreainst the another,a former captain drives taxi in England and players contemplate suicide. Akhtar blames the PCB for this despondent state of affairs. His run-ins with Ashraf Naseem,the then PCB chairman make for fascinating reading. They also reveal how even the topmost leaders in the government have a direct say in cricket affairs.When the book itself is blatantly titled “controversially yours”, it is fair to expect some really juicy anecdotes and allegations. Shoaib openly admits to have done ball tampering and says that every fast bowler does it at some point of his career. For Indian readers, the most exasperating parts are the ones where he writes that Rahul Dravid,inspite of his great technique,was not a match winner ! He insinuates that Sachin Tendulkar played for his records first and his team next. It is tough to judge whether such inanities were written straight out of his heart or they were just publicity seeking lines to market the book because Sachin always Sells.Negativity dominates his portrayal of the dressing room where “fistfights,knives flashed around,bats swung at each other” were common sights. A particularly funny anecdote involves Saqlain Mushtaq chasing around Javed Miandad with a bat and the other teammates following them with a smile in their faces. The acrimony as portrayed in the chapter on dressing room has reflected on the team’s performance which has always been mercurial.The book’s best parts relate to his childhood and adolescent years. His harrowing experiences during the riots at Karachi underline the vagaries of life in a volatile country like Pakistan.Shoaib rising up the cricket ladder from an underprivileged background has been poignantly captured in the first few chapters. The book’s biggest drawback is it has more of Shoaib the Star and less of Shoaib The Bowler. Insights into his greatest spells in Colombo and New Zealand are missing and what we get instead are his run-ins with his teammates,coaches,umpires and PCB. Inspite of such pitfalls, this book is a welcome addition to literature on cricket. There is vanity, there is candour, there is controversy, there is unbridled aggression - all the attributes one would perennially associate with a man who once clean bowled Sachin Tendulkar and silenced a million at Eden Gardens.
review 2: A book I had really looked forward to read. Shoaib Akhtar, probably the most interesting character in Pakistani cricket for many years, and here the book presents a first hand account of his career. I must say the book was not disappointing! Once I started reading it was very hard to put the book down again, a read for any cricket fan! The way the book was written was too simple for my liking however small touches in urdu/punjabi were definitely enjoyed. His views on everything from his scandals, the PCB, all the allegations towards him in his career are all controversies he talks about. It is still hard to determine what is the truth, nonetheless it is Shoaib Akhtar controversially yours as we know him! less

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