Wasim Akram continues to be celebrated as the legendary bowler in the sport of Pakistan cricket, while in the celebrations of his 56th birthday, we have presented highlights of his career.
Wasim Akram played a pivotal role for Pakistan to win the 1992 World Cup, where he ended as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament, taking 18 wickets from ten matches. In the 1987 Cricket World Cup, held in South Asia for the first time, Akram struggled on the Pakistani pitches; he managed just 7 wickets throughout, averaging more than 40 runs per wicket across all seven matches. Akram was a major factor in the 1992 Cricket World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand, with Pakistan winning the tournament. Akram made his Test cricket debut for Pakistan in 1985 against New Zealand, and claimed 10 wickets in his second Test match.
He became the best fast bowler in the world, and played a crucial role in the only Pakistani national cricket team to win a World Cup title in 1992, taking three wickets in the final against England. One of his most notable achievements was being the first bowler to bag in 400 wickets in two forms of the game, ODIs and Test cricket.
Wasim Akram was on top for nearly 20 years, during which his famed swing-and-miss actions earned him a record-breaking 916 international wickets for Pakistan. Wasim Akram made his debut in 1984, when he began his white-ball cricket career for Pakistan, at age 18, and for the next 19 years, this was the full-spectrum display of Wasim Akrams skills.
With the fluid delivery of the Wasim Akram delivery, and his actions, Wasim Akram has ensnared top-order batsmen around the globe bowling inswinging yorkers, and menacing bouncers. Wasim Akram has taken 122 wickets at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, which is the highest of all bowlers at any single venue in ODI cricket. While Australia’s Glenn McGrath may rank as the best fast bowler of all time, Wasim Akram should also feature on this list.
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As a bowler, he was able to late-swing the ball, whether it is on or off the field, with a fine change of pace, and has one of the most diverse arsenals in cricketing history, with the inswing, outswing, yorker, and bouncer being only some of the weapons available to him. Javed Miandad’s eyes for talent meant that Wasim Akram forced himself onto the Pakistan national side without playing a single first-class match. He is also a strike-throwing batsman in the lower order, and has a double-century against Zimbabwe to show for his credentials.
If Pakistan had a legendary captain like Imran Khan, he was the biggest reason why Pakistan lifted the 1992 World Cup, but somehow that was not possible without a bowler like Wasim Akram, who was the match-winner for Pakistan all through the tournament.