Wasim Akram Biography
source(google.com.pk)
Full name Wasim Akram
Born June 3, 1966 Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Role Bowler
Batting style Left-handed
Bowling style Left-arm fast
International information
Test debut (cap 102) 25 January 1985: v New Zealand
Last Test 9 January 2002: v Bangladesh
ODI debut (cap 53) 23 November 1984: v New Zealand
Last ODI 4 March 2003: v Zimbabwe
Domestic team information
Years Team
2003 Hampshire
2000/01 Lahore Blues
1992/93 – 2000/01 Pakistan International Airlines
1988 – 1998 Lancashire
1997/98 Lahore City
1985/86 Lahore City Whites
1984/85 – 1985/86 Pakistan Automobiles Corporation
Wasim Akram (Urdu: وسیم اکرم)(born June 3, 1966 in Lahore, Punjab) is a
former Pakistani cricketer. He was a left-arm fast bowler and
left-handed batsman, who represented the Pakistani cricket team in Tests
and One-Day Internationals. He is widely regarded as one of the finest
fast bowlers ever and holds world records for the most wickets taken in
both ODIs (502) and List A cricket (881). Domestic career
Wasim signed for Lancashire in 1988 and went on to become one of their
most successful overseas players. From 1988 to 1998, he spearheaded
their attack in their NatWest Trophy, Benson & Hedges Cup and Sunday
League winning sides. He was a favourite of the local fans who used to
sing a song called "Wasim for England" at Lancashire's matches.
International career
Wasim made his Test debut for Pakistani cricket team against New Zealand
in early 1985 and in only his second Test he made his presence felt
with a ten-wicket haul. Like a few other Pakistani cricketers of his
time, he was identified at club level and bypassed first-class domestic
competition, entering international cricket directly. A few weeks prior
to his selection into the Pakistani team, he was an unknown club
cricketer who had failed to even make it to his college team. He was
spotted by Javed Miandad, and as a result of his insisting was it that
Wasim was given an oppurtunity to play for Pakistan. Later that season
he paired with Imran, who became his mentor, at the World Championship
of Cricket in Australia.
Wasim's rise in international cricket was rapid during the initial
years. When Pakistan toured the West Indies in 1988, he looked to be the
quickest bowler between the two sides. However, a serious groin injury
impeded his career in the late 1980s. Following two surgeries, he
re-emerged in 1990 as a bowler who focused more on swing and control
than speed.
One-Day success
Wasim was instrumental in Pakistan's famous World Cup victory in 1992 in
Australia. In the final against England his late flurry of an innings,
33 off 19 balls, pushed Pakistan to a respectable 249 for 6. Wasim then
took the all-important wicket of Ian Botham early on, and when brought
back into the attack later on, with the ball reverse swinging, he
produced a devastating spell which led to Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis
being clean-bowled in successive deliveries. His excellent performances
earned him the Man of the Match award for the final.
He also captained Pakistan with some success. The high points of his
captaincy were the 1996-97 victory in the World Series in Australia, two
Test match wins in India in 1998-99 and in 1999, when Pakistan reached
the World Cup final for the second time. The low point was the 1996
World Cup in Pakistan and India, when he had to pull out of the crucial
quarter final match against India. After Pakistan's defeat, there were
angry protests outside his homes, and a government inquiry was launched
into the failure.
In 1999, he led Pakistan to the brink of victory in the World Cup before
they rolled over and gave the final to Australia. This was the start of
the match-fixing controversies, as people believed Wasim had set up the
match for Australia. He was pardoned by Justice Qayyum.
He was Pakistan's top bowler in the 2003 World Cup taking 19 wickets in 7
matches. However, Pakistan failed to reach the "Super Six" phase of the
tournament, and Wasim was one of the eight players to be sacked by the
Pakistan Cricket Board as a result.
Wasim was diagnosed with diabetes at the peak of his career, but despite
the initial psychological blow, he managed to regain his form and went
on to produce fine cricketing displays. Since then he has actively
sought to be involved in various awareness-raising campaigns for
diabetes.
Playing style
“ Over my 15 or 16 years of playing international cricket in Tests and
one-day internationals, Wasim Akram is definitely the most outstanding
bowler I've ever faced. ”
— Former West Indies batsman Brian Lara.
An immensely talented player first discovered by Javed Miandad, Wasim
played for his college(Govt. Islamia College Civil Lines, Lahore) as an
opening bowler and batsman. As a bowler, Wasim possessed genuine pace,
accurate control of line and length and seam position, and could swing
the ball both in and out. With a very deceptive ball-concealing action,
he could bowl equally well from both sides of the wicket. His mastery of
reverse swing with the old ball meant he was at his most dangerous
towards the end of an innings, and earned him the nickname Sultan of
Swing.
As well as often being able to find the edge of the bat, Wasim would
also focus his attack on the stumps and had a particularly lethal
yorker. Of his 414 Test wickets, 193 were taken caught, 119 were taken
LBW and 102 were bowled. In partnership with Waqar Younis, he
intimidated international batsmen in the 1990s. Together Wasim and
Waqar, known as "the two Ws" of the Pakistani team, were one of the most
successful bowling partnerships ever.
Wasim was also skilled with the bat and was regarded as a bowling
all-rounder. He was especially effective against spinners. However, he
liked to slog and was criticised for his lack of big scores and giving
away his wicket too cheaply for a player of his talent. He did silence
his critics in October 1996 when he scored 257, not out, of the team's
total of 553 against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura. He also made good scores
in difficult times for the Pakistan team such as his 123 against
Australia and his 45 not-out to take Pakistan to victory in a
low-scoring match. Pakistan, needing six runs in two balls two win the
Nehru Cup saw Wasim come out to bat. The first ball he faced was hit out
of the ground and secured the cup. Ahmed Bilal was his coach who gave
him tricks on reverse swing.
Records
In his Test career, Wasim took 414 wickets in 104 matches, a Pakistani
record, at an average of 23.62, and scored 2,898 runs, at an average of
22.64.
In One-Day Internationals, Wasim took a world record 502 wickets in 356
appearances, at an average of 23.52, and scored 3,717 runs, at an
average of 16.52.
Wasim was the first bowler in international cricket to take more than
400 wickets in both forms of the game, and only Muttiah Muralitharan has
since achieved this.
Wasim also held the record for the most wickets in Cricket World Cups — a
total of 55 in 38 matches. Australia's Glenn McGrath broke the record
during the 2007 World Cup, ending with a final tally of 71 from 39
matches. On passing Wasim's record, McGrath said, "Wasim Akram, to me,
is one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Left-armer, swung it both
ways with the new ball and he was so dangerous with the old ball. To go
past him is something I will always remember. Probably the other side of
the coin is that if you play long enough, you're going to break records
here and there."
Uniquely, Wasim took four hat-tricks in international cricket, two each
in Tests and ODIs. He is one of only three bowlers to have taken two
Test hat-tricks (the others being Hugh Trumble and Jimmy Matthews), and
also one of only three bowlers to have taken two ODI hat-tricks (the
others being fellow Pakistani Saqlain Mushtaq and Chaminda Vaas of Sri
Lanka). Wasim's Test hat-tricks are unique, since they were taken in
consecutive Test matches in the same series, against Sri Lanka in 1999.
Wasim is also one of only two bowlers to have taken both a Test and ODI
hat-trick (the other being fellow Pakistani Mohammad Sami).
Playing in a Test against the West Indies at Lahore in 1990-91, he
became one of only six players to have taken four wickets in an over
during a Test match. In Wasim's case, the feat was not part of a
hat-trick, the third ball of the series being a dropped catch, which
allowed a single.
Wasim has also achieved the highest score by a number eight batsman in
Test cricket — 257 not out from 363 balls against Zimbabwe at
Sheikhupura. The innings contained 12 sixes which is also a world record
for Test cricket.
He also has the joint-highest number of Man of the Match awards in Test
cricket, along with South African Jacques Kallis, with 17.
Controversies
In 1992, after he had been successful against English batsmen,
accusations of ball tampering began to appear in the English press,
though no video evidence was ever found. Wasim and Waqar had been able
to obtain prodigious amounts of movement from old balls. This
phenomenon, termed reverse swing was relatively unknown in England at
the time.
A far larger controversy was created when he was alleged to be involved
in match fixing. An enquiry commission was set up by Pakistan Cricket
Board headed by a Pakistan high court judge Malik Mohammed Qayyum. The
judge wrote in his report that:
This commission feels that all is not well here and that Wasim Akram is
not above board. He has not co-operated with this Commission. It is only
by giving Wasim Akram the benefit of the doubt after Ata-ur-Rehman
changed his testimony in suspicious circumstances that he has not been
found guilty of match-fixing. He cannot be said to be above suspicion.
Retirement
Wasim retired in 2003, after a brief spell with Hampshire in England.
Since then, Wasim has taken up commentary and can currently be seen as a
sportscaster for the ESPN Star network, and is also running shows on
ARY Digital.
He is married to Huma Mufti, daughter of Mr. Humayaun Mufti. Huma and Wasim have two sons from their marriage of thirteen years.
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