Akhtar could make batsmen nervous: Gul

Pakistan pacer Umar Gul said, Shoaib Akhtar could scare and shiver any batsman when at his best, including West Indian legend Brian Lara.

Shoaib Akhtar in his recently published autobiography "controversially yours" claimed that Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar was scared of him.

Gul never commented directly on Akhtar's claims on Tendulkar but said the former fast bowler could even make the best batsman nervous with his lightning pace.

"I can't say specifically that I saw Tendulkar running away from Shoaib, but no one can deny that when Shoaib was at his fastest and best, the world's best batsmen were nervous facing him. There is no batsman who is not nervous or ruffled when facing a pure fast bowler," Gul said.

"Even Brian Lara, who I rate as the world's best batsman, admitted to feeling ruffled when he was hit on the helmet by a bouncer from Shoaib."

Gul said he is against the idea of legalizing ball tampering with set rules. He feels if ball tampering is made legal, it is easy to bowl reverse swing, which is an art, and some of the beauty of the game would be lost.

"I don't think the way is to legalize it. Leave cricket with its traditional ways rather than making changes that would take all the charm out of it," he said.