"Muralitharan is the toughest batsman I have bowled to"- Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar terrorized the batters of his generation, troubling most with his vicious bouncers and toe-crushers. But he believes the toughest batter he ever bowled to was none other than Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan.

Muralitharan was a tailender, batting at No. 11 for Sri Lanka. He used to come to the crease at a time when Shoaib Akhtar was ready to bounce the batters out.

Akhtar shared that Muralitharan used to come up to him and request him to bowl fuller, and in return, he would promise to give his wicket away.

Speaking to Sportskeeda on the show 'Quick Singles,' Shoaib Akhtar gave rapid answers to many interesting questions.

"Muttiah Muralitharan is the toughest batsman I have bowled to. I am not even kidding. He requested me not to kill him and told me that he will die if I hit him with a bouncer. He said, 'Please pitch the ball up and I will give you the wicket away'.

"Whenever I pitched the ball up he just used to slash hard and used to tell me that he hit it by mistake," Shoaib Akhtar narrated.

Jonny Bairstow is an overrated batsman: Shoaib Akhtar

During the segment, Shoaib Akhtar also revealed that he believes star England opener Jonny Bairstow is an overrated batter. Bairstow has been one of the main reasons for England's success as a white-ball side since the 2015 World Cup.

Speaking about the batters of the current generation that he would love to dismiss, Shoaib Akhtar named Virat Kohli, Babar Azam, and England all-rounder Ben Stokes.

Akhtar also said that his performance against India in the Kolkata Test in 1999, where he picked up four wickets and gave away just 71 runs, was a spell that was extremely close to his heart.

Speaking about the IPL and PSL, Akhtar gave a really smart answer. He stated that he would play the PSL because of his nationality and love for the country and the IPL because it pays the cricketers well.