Shoaib Akhtar visits Haji Ali ahead of IPL players bid
Mumbai, Feb 18 (UNI) Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar visited the internationally famous Haji Ali shrine here, this afternoon, and offered special prayer for the victory of his team and his country.
Akhtar, who was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, was accompanied by some of his friends. The shrine which is in the middle of the sea, saw Akhtar, also known as the 'Rawalpindi Express', walking the distance to the shrine after getting down from his car.
He offered prayers there and later while talking to mediapersons waiting out side the shrine, said he had prayed for his country as well as for his team.
Shoaib Akhtar is in the city to take part in bidding for players for the DLF Indian Premier League Twenty20 championship, which will take place here on February 20.
Shoaib has come here two days before the actual bidding takes place to hold talks with franchises, ahead of the bid process, which he will also attend.
He
stated
''My
commitment
to
the
DLF
IPL
is
absolute.
There
is
a
lot
of
talk
flying
around
players
at
the
moment
regarding
the
new
Twenty20
competitions.
I
have
signed
with
the
DLF
IPL
and
I
am
excited
about
the
upcoming
bid
process
and
also
finding
out
which
franchise
I
will
play
for.'' The
Pakistani
pacer
stated,
''I
cannot
wait
to
be
allocated
to
a
city
and
franchise.
My
contract
with
them
will
be
a
three
year
deal
initially,
so
I
am
in
it
for
the
long
haul.
I
cannot
wait
to
interact
with
the
local
fan
base
and
become
one
of
their
'own'
players.''
He
added,
''If
I
am
able
to
win
even
a
fraction
of
the
'love'
the
Indian
people
have
for
their
players
it
will
be
amazing.
And
I
will
be
giving
everything
I
can
to
try
and
achieve
that
for
the
next
three
years
and
hopefully
beyond.''
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