Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar announced the failure of his dream project via Twitter on Saturday. The legendary pacer revealed that a biopic titled “Rawalpindi Express” was being made about his life, but he has since severed ties with the production team.
The 47-year-old explained that, while he really wanted to do the film, contractual violations by the film crew and disagreements forced him to cancel the deal. Akhtar also stated that he would go to court if the filmmakers continued to make the film and used his name or life story events in any way.
“Very sadly, I would like to inform all of you that after careful consideration of months, I have decided to disassociate myself from the film “Rawalpindi Express” & its makers by terminating the agreement through my management and legal team. Definitely, it was a dream project and I tried a lot to prevent and stay in the boat, but unfortunately, things were not going well,” Akhtar wrote on his official Twitter handle.
“Failure to resolve disagreements amicably and constant contractual violations finally resulted in us cut ties with them. Therefore I have left the project after complying all legal protocols of revoking the rights to the story of my life,” he added.
“Severe legal action will be taken if the makers continue to make biography film and use my name and life story events in any way,” Shoaib’s tweet concluded.
Akhtar, who is from Rawalpindi in Pakistan’s Punjab province, is also known as the “Rawalpindi Express”, a nickname bestowed upon him by the cricketing community and fans for being one of the fastest bowlers in the game during his career. The retired cricketer still holds the world record for the fastest delivery ever bowled in an international cricket match.
During the 2003 Cricket World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa, he bowled a 161.3 Kmph(100.2 MPH) delivery to England opener Nick Knight in an ODI. After rattling the England batter with speeds of 153.3 kmph, 158.4 kmph, 158.5 kmph, 157.4 kmph, and 159.5 kmph in his first five balls, it was the last ball of his maiden over.
