“She’s a good friend of mine:” An interesting tale of Shoaib Akhtar, Katrina Kaif’s friendship

Former cricketer Shoaib Akhtar shared a story about his friendship with Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif with his teammates over dinner during a tour of New Zealand.

In a recent interview on a private TV channel, ex-left-arm fast bowler and former chief selector Wahab Riaz recalled an intriguing account of this story.

During the program, host Tabish Hashmi revealed that when he asked cricketers about the player most likely to make up stories, everyone named Shoaib Akhtar.

Tabish asked Wahab Riaz if he could recall any similar stories about other cricketers.

In response to the question, he shared an anecdote about Shoaib Akhtar.

“Once Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq, Ahmed Shahzad, Umer Akmal and other cricketers were having dinner in Shoaib Akhtar's room in New Zealand. While Katrina Kaif's song 'Sheila Ki Jawani' was playing on TV, Shoaib Bhai said, she is a good friend of mine," Riaz reminisced.

He recalled that Shoaib Akhtar had recently played in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he had the opportunity to meet Katrina Kaif. Shoaib's friendship with Salman Khan facilitated his introduction to the actress.

Wahab Riaz further shared that Mohammad Hafeez was taken aback by the former fast bowler's words.

During dinner, Hafeez, who also played the same IPL season, stopped eating, folded his hands, and said to Shoaib, “Look at my hands, don't lie for God's sake.”

On this, the legendary speedster replied, "Are you calling me a liar? I definitely met Katrina.” 

“After that he kicked us all out of the room and our food was also wasted,” Wahab Riaz said. 

He described Shoaib Akhtar as a “great personality” who never fails to entertain.