“Very sadly, I would like to inform all of you that after careful consideration of months, I have decided to disassociate myself from the film ‘Rawalpindi Express’ and its makers by terminating the agreement through my management and legal team,” he said in a Twitter post on Saturday.

The film that was planned to be released this year in November was supposed to be the “first foreign film about a Pakistani sportsman”. Named after his on-field nickname, the film was set to be directed by Muhammad Faraz Qaiser, who planned to make it in 2016 and described it as a dream project.

Akhtar was one of the fastest bowlers of his time. His 14-year international career ended in 2011. He took 444 wickets for Pakistan. His delivery in a 2003 World Cup match against England, clocked at 161.3 km/h (100.23 mph), is the fastest ever recorded in an international match. He still holds that record. Akhtar was the first bowler to break the 100 mph mark, according to Wisden.

The former fast bowler was famous for his pace, swing, and banter. His celebration style where he mimicked a plane after picking up wickets was famous among his aficionados. It stemmed from his love for flying jets.

He tried his “best to stay on the boat” for the project, which according to him was a dream like many of his fans had. Unfortunately, Akhtar said things were not going well.

Earlier this month, singer-actor Uzair Jaswal, who was playing the lead role in the film, announced that he was no longer associated with the biopic for “creative and personal reasons”. He had made the announcement with a photo of himself as Akhtar in his iconic number 14 jersey on his Instagram post.

“Failure to resolve disagreements amicably and constant contractual violations finally resulted in us to cut ties with them. Therefore, I have left the project after complying all legal protocols of revoking the rights to the story of my life,” Akhtar said.

The former pacer warned of severe action if the makers continue to make the biography film and use his name of life story in any way.