Shoaib Akhtar welcomes baby girl, shares adorable photo

Shoaib Akhtar, former Pakistani fast bowler, announced the birth of his third child — and it’s a baby girl.

“Mikaeel & Mujaddid have a baby sister now. Allah taala has blessed us with a baby daughter,” the former pacer, who holds the record for bowling the fastest ball, announced in an Instagram post.

“Welcoming Nooreh Ali Akhtar, born during Jumma prayers, 19th of Shaban, 1445 AH,” Akhtar said.

“Aap sab ki duaon ka talab gaar [I request all of you to pray for me],” he added.

Shoaib married Rubab Khan on June 25, 2014. They now have three children. In November 2016, they welcomed their first child Mohammad Mikaeel Ali and on July 14, 2019, the ex-cricketer and his wife welcomed their second son.

Akhtar is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers to ever grace the game. He holds the record of bowling the fastest bowl to date at 161.3km/h.

The Rawalpindi Express represented Pakistan in 46 Test matches, where he took 178 wickets with a 3.37 economy.

In ODIs, the former speedster appeared in 163 Test matches, where he took 247 wickets with a 4.76 economy. On the other hand, he didn’t get to play many T20Is with the Green Shirts as he only featured in 15 international matches where he took 19 scalps.

Despite being a legendary bowler, Akhtar had his fair share of injuries throughout his career as the Rawalpindi-born missed the 2007 World Cup where Pakistan suffered a painful group-stage exit.

The 2011 World Cup in India was his final international tournament for the Green Shirts where he only played in group matches and wasn’t included in the knockout stages.