Former Pakistan bowler  Shoaib Akhtar has made a startling claim that he turned down a £175,000 ($22,900) county contract with Nottinghamshire to take part the Kargil war in 1999.

The war in Kargil was fought between India and Pakistan for two months, from May to July, 1999. Hundreds of soldiers died on both sides.

In an interview with Pakistan’s ARY News, Akhtar said “People hardly know about this story. I had £175,000 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 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,” he added.

“When the planes 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.”

He said, he was hurt and felt dizzy. “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.”

Shoaib Akhtar had a career spanning a decade and was considered as one of the fastest bowlers in the world.