WASIM AKRAM

 WASIM AKRAM

Wasim Akram, also known as King of Swings, was a Pakistani cricket player who helped his country win the World Cup of one-day international (ODI) cricket in 1992. He is widely considered to be the greatest left-handed bowler of all time and is arguably among the best fast bowlers of all time. Akram was born on June 3, 1966, in Lahore, Pakistan.

Akram was raised in the affluent area of Model town and was born into an upper-middle class family. His father was a prosperous businessman, and Akram attended the Cathedral School in Lahore where table tennis was his favorite sport. Since he was 10 years old, Akram has lived with his grandparents, who introduced him to cricket via his devotion to the game.

At the beginning of the 1984–85 season, as a youngster, he made his 1st, ODI, and Test debuts all within a three-month period. After that, barring any spells of injury or political unrest, he was a consistent part of the Pakistan team, which he regularly led before retiring in 2003. Akram, who was polite and intelligent, was well-liked across the world, but especially in England, where he gave numerous devastating performances for his county, Lancashire, with both the bat and the ball.

Although the absence of adequate instruction early in his career was evident in his staccato run-up and fast delivery stride, his hitting was always aggressive and frequently devastating 

 

Akram did lead the Pakistani team on several times, but claims of match-fixing, injuries, and diabetic issues did little to aid his case when he left the sport in 2003. He then became a frequent pundit for a sports channel and is most known for co-hosting the Shaz and Waz programme with fellow commentator Ravi Shastri.

His greatest achievement as captain came during the 1996 tour of England, where he led his side to a 2-0 victory over three matches, and in a three-match Test series at home versus Dennis Walsh's West Indies squad in 1997–1998.

In the 1992 World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, he helped his country advance to the championship match against England with both his bat and ball work, and his two iconic deliveries to Alan Lamb and Chris Lewis put an end to Graham Gooch's team's hopes of chasing down the target set by Pakistan.

Wasim scored three century in Test matches, with his greatest score coming against Zimbabwe in Sheikhupura in 1996–1997 at 257. 

Wasim amassed 92 wickets against Sri Lanka, 89 against the Windies, 67 against Australia, 64 versus New Zealand, 60 against India, 35 against South Africa, and 33 against Zimbabwe in limited overs cricket.

After collecting 16 wickets in a Test series in England and being signed by Lancashire in 1987, he led his adoptive county in 1998 after guiding them with honour, success, and humility.

After leaving the game, he started appearing often as a pundit on several television networks.