The ex Pakistan speed star Shoaib revealed how in 1999 he turned down Nottinghamshire contact worth £175,000 to participate in the Kargil war.

“I had a 175,000 pound contract with Nottingham. Then in 2002 I had another big contract. I left both when Kargil happened”

“I stood on the outskirts of Lahore. A general asked me what I’m doing there. I said a war is about to start and we’ll die together. I left county [cricket] twice like this and the counties were shocked. I wasn’t concerned about that. I called up my friends in Kashmir and told them I am ready to fight,” quoted Akhtar

He went on to say how he used to tell generals we will die together

“When the planes (from India) came and downed some of our trees, that was a big loss for us. They dropped 6-7 trees and we are really putting a lot of focus on trees now. I was very hurt about this. I was feeling dizzy when I woke up that day and my wife told me to calm down. But until the next day when I saw the news, that continued. I know the inside story of what happened on the next day, I’m from Rawalpindi and I know GHQ.”

”I had a 175,000-pound contract with Nottingham. Then in 2002, I had another big contract. I left both when Kargil happened,” Shoaib Akhtar to ARY News