Top 10 controversial autobiographies of cricketers

Some tried to be brutally honest, some attempted desperate self-justifications, and others kindled old fire while a handful perceived it as merely a mode of advertisement. At the end of the day, they all wrote controversy. As Kevin Pietersen’s autobiography continues to dominate headlines, let’s take a look at nine others that began as a personal account of a cricketer’s life but ended up as manuscripts of controversy.

#10 Controversially Yours Shoaib Akhtar

The carefree narrative of the relaxed and somewhat languid former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar is hardly remarkable except a few jabs at Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and some seniors in his national team. While the media raised a hue and cry over Akhtar’s questionable opinions, the essence of the book – the story of a poor village kid struggling with his heath following his passion and tasting fairytale success at the highest echelon of sports – was somehow lost in the echo.

Yes, Akhtar did raise a few eyebrows with his comments on Wasim Akram, and Javed Miandad and his candid confessions of ball tampering were indeed too casual for comfort. Typical Shoaib, as one who knows him would say: straightforward, reckless and mildly exaggerating. The administrative strife with the then PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf was dramatized enough to nourish the ploy of popularizing his book, thereby ensuring its widespread sale.