Robin Uthappa reveals how Shoaib Akhtar had threatened him during Pak's 2007 tour of India

Veteran batsman Robin Uthappa has gone back in time and recalled an incident when Pakistan pace icon Shoaib Akhtar had warned him of facing his deadly beamers if the former ever batted aggressively against him. The incident dates back to 2007 when Pakistan had toured India for a bilateral series that consisted of five One Day Internationals and three Tests.

It so happened that Uthappa had dominated Akhtar in the One Day series which supposedly shattered the confidence of the 'Rawalpindi Express'.

'If you do that again...'

"I'll share one story about Shoaib Akhtar. We were playing a game in Guwahati. And since it's in the east of India, it gets dark there early. Back then, we did not have two new balls. After 34 overs, we used to get a ball that used to be 24 overs old but slightly better. Shoaib was bowling and Irfan and I were batting. I think we needed 12 to win off 25 balls or something like that. I remember he bowled a yorker to me. I missed it from the arm and only saw it coming straight into the blockhole. I stopped the ball dead there. That was 154 something clicks. The next ball was a low full toss and I hit the ball for four. So after that, we needed 3 or 4 runs to win and I told myself, 'Man, I have to walk out to Shoaib Akhtar and hit him. How many times will I get that opportunity.' He bowled a length ball and I did it; it took the edge and it went for four. We won the match", said Uthappa while speaking to stand-up comedian Sorabh Pant on his YouTube channel 'Wake Up With Sorabh'.

Even though India drew first blood at Guwahati, the Men In Green won the next match in Mohali to level the series. However, MS Dhoni & Co. gained the upper hand by winning the following ODI in Kanpur and when both teams reached Gwalior for the fourth ODI, Shoaib Akhtar happened to meet Robbie ahead of the game and reminded him about his ruthless batting intent against the speedster after which he put the Karnataka cricketer on notice.

"We went to Gwalior for the next game and I remember we all were having dinner together. I think we hung out at someone's room and having a mean. Shoaib Bhai was there as well. He came to me and said 'Robin… well played. Good game'. And then he said 'One more thing… you walked out and hit me today. If you do that again, even I don't know what will happen… you might get a beamer directed at your head.' After that, I didn't even dare walk out to him," Robin Uthappa added.

Shoaib Akhtar's cricketing career

Akhtar has represented Pakistan in 46 Tests, 163 One Day Internationals and, 15 T20Is from 1997 to 2011. The 'Rawalpindi Express' has picked up 178, 247, and, 19 scalps in all three formats respectively. 

The iconic speedster is recognized as the fastest bowler in the history of cricket, delivering a world record top speed of 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph) in a pool match against England during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He called it a day in 2011 after Pakistan's ouster from World Cup 2011 post the high-voltage semi-final loss against arch-rivals and eventual winners India in Mohali. 

Ever since his retirement, the 'Rawalpindi Express' has found success as a commentator and as a cricket pundit. Shoaib has his own Youtube channel where he can be seen giving cricket analysis on a regular basis.