Wasim Akram: A Tribute

this person is a legend on the expense of many other talents, he either destroyed them or by his politics made their carrier end, togather with majid khan and simmilar minions. by the damage this man has done to Pak cricket, his acheievements have no value.

Wasim has certainly been a great bowler for Pakistan, but I do think he was involved in match-fixing. I also believe he on purpose, didn`t play the 96 world cup India-Pakistan match and was paid later. But you can`t deny that he is a maestro with a ball. A great influence on youngsters in both India, Pakistan and perhaps on youngsters in most cricket playing countries. Waqar was and still is awesome. I hope he returns. Remember Ws.

It was indeed Miandad who discovered him. Miandad was also the one who recommended that he be picked for the 84/85 tour to New Zealand, where Wasim made his first impression. It was Imran from whom Wasim learnt the art of reverse swing and politics, both of which he applied with great skill and passion throughout the last 15 years.
I grew up idolising Wasim Akram, the best left arm fast bowler ever to have played the game. I do not, however, share the heartwarming sympathy displayed for him in these pages. He played havoc with the sport of cricket, Pakistani cricket fans, and many promising young cricketers (not unlike his mentor, Imran) playing internal politics. I have no sympathy when he becomes a victim of a welcome house cleaning of a corrupt bunch by the board.

I wish he changed his decision, and come back.....cricket is not the same, and definitley lesser fun to watch without him playing on our side

A kot of you have diverged from talking about Wasim. I feel that words are not adequate to describe the greatness of this bowler. Don Bradman called him the best left arm fast bowler ever and batsmen the world over were afraid of his deadly ability to bowl six different deliveries in the span of one over. He had the uncanny ability to detect the weakness of any batsman within the first two to three deliveries he bowled to that person.

Wasim was a king in his own right. Despite all the negative things that may have come through regarding him, teh positives are much much more and he has done a great service to Pakistan and brought many laurels for the country and that too often single handedly.

Wasims absence will be dearly felt and i doubt that Pakistan will ever find a replacement for him.

I for one salute Wasim Akram for all that he has done for my country and wish him the very best.

Talking about politics in Pakistani cricket Tauqir Zia`s son Junaid is now in the starting eleven. His bowling figures in the first one day at Multan:

Junaid Zia : 7 overs 0 mdns 35 runs 0 wickets (1nb, 5w).

When Amer Sohail was asked why Junaid Zia was chosen over more qualified people he said:

``It doesn`t matter for us whether someone is the son of a general or a poor one,`` Sohail told the BBC Urdu Service.

``For us, the criteria is his ability to play cricket.``
Junaid was in the Pakistan Academy squad which visited South Africa recently.
He took only two wickets in the two one-day matches and seven wickets in two 4-day matches.
But the selectors preferred Junaid over another youngster Fahad Masud, who had claimed nine wickets in two one-day internationals and eight wickets in two 4-day matches.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/3094792.stm

This is the new bright future of Pakistani Cricket!!!!!! This what they got for Wasim and Waqar.

Faisaluno #17,

No need to pay back in kind (or cash for that matter). I truly have the highest
respect for Wasim as a bowler. Ashish Nehra seems to have an almost fawning
admiration for him as well. I think Indian Board should pay oodles of money to get
Akram as a bowling coach (I am dead serious about this) to groom Nehra and
Zaheer - otherwise they will forever be stuck in the Srinath category.

Gavaskar was perhaps more gutsy and technically correct that Sachin. However,
I am yet to see another batsman who can demolish a bowling on his day like
Tendulkar (Viv Richards is the only one I can think of). Sachin`s natural talents
are abundant, but Gavaskar perhaps applied his more judiciously.

faisalsuno:

:) :)

he is so natural but!

Naqshbandi saheb,
how can you appreciate a kafir game like cricket which was never played in the lanes and bylanes of mecca or madina, neither have i found any sunnat recommending this kafirana game for the muslims. infact one sura ( dont know which) tells muslims not to be involved in betting and wasting time on useless pastime....and as you know betting is the greatest game played within the game of cricket and wasim,waqar,mushtaq,saeed,azhar,inzi and hansie,etc were great exponants of the game within the game.....moreover, wearing those tight trousers is absolutely un-islamic and rubbing of the redball on the hips and the groin area is tauba, tauba so obscene.......if i was a girl, i would die of sharam, watching these perverts doing those things with the ball ;))

thanks faisal.

anyway guys.. I am allways surprised to see kind of politics going on over the years in Pakistan cricket. I think I might able to understand every damm thing out there in this world except PCB politics. anybody could come in, anybody could go out anytime. Where is Mr. Moin khan nowadays? any idea? in between i was surprised to see Rashid Latif made captian when he was not in the team for long plus when he had allready taken retirement i guess, if i m not mistaken. Anyway, Saeed anwar was another fantastic player and was allways a treat to watch. I guess being indian I should be happy on his retirement as he has allways kept his best performance reserved against india. I remember he has scored 8 or 9 centuries again india and 6 or 7 of them in Sharjah itself. But i will allways miss his batting which was treat to watch.

rozaiba .. Navjyot sidhhu has a great command on English, plus he has humorous brain. But that doesnt make him good commentrator. He is allways biased to to his own country and i guess when you are commentring, best commentrator keep that thing away. He is just entertainer not a good commentrator.

faisal i agree with you 100% about saeed anwar.

i have often thought that since busharraf became PM he wouldn`t tolerate such a high profile pakistani cricketer being seen with a turban and beard and preaching about islam. sad really. but that`s all you can expect from a slave really. and he obviously transferred the order to tauqir zia. hence exit saeed bhai. :-(

viv richards described him as the best one day batsman he has ever seen.

there was an interesting article about how the pakistani team are becoming increasingly religious in the friday times, last week i think it was. it mentioned saeed, waqar, mushtaq ahmad and 1 other attending tablighi jamaat gatherings. also inzi is supposed to be religious. i am not a tablighi btw.

i think that whether a person is religious or not it shouldn`t matter- when picking a team-cricketers should be picked on their ability only.

some time ago there was the most pathetic discussion on prime tv about whether it was important for pakistani cricketers to be able to speak english! a member of the army who was involved in the team ws saying how only those cricketers who can speak english should be picked as it reflects badly if they can`t! I felt like ringing in to abuse him! WHAT a slave mentality! no wonder our cricket (and our country) is in such a mess!

naqshbandi:

the biggest injustice -- and i am surprised that you have not picked this -- has been done to saeed anwar, the most talented batsman pakistan has ever produced. just remind you, saeed was dropped after scoring a century in the biggest match a pakistani can can ever play i.e. against india in the world cup. and the reason for him being dropped and this is strictly my personal opinion might have something to do with his new found religious conviction and the impact his beliefs would have on the team. otoh, he might have been dropped because of politics. still, decisions such as this one and the selection of tauqir zia`a son in the one day team makes me ashamed of my country. tauqir zia`s a$$ needs to be whipped at a public square cause this is the only way our elites will learn to be just. and apologies if i sound a tad harsh but i am a big supporter of paki team, one of the main reasons being that cricket is the only great equalizer in pak meaning it is the only field where our poor citizens have an equal opportunity to compete with us rich folks. and poor people can be successful. just read umer gul`s profile on bbc:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/3086674.stm

Gul`s is a story is one of rags to riches.

Born into a poor family, his home town of Nawae-Kali is better known for producing world-class squash players like Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan and Qamar Zaman.

``Gul is a hard worker.His father couldn`t afford a kit yet he fulfilled his childhood dreams of making a name in cricket,`` said Zaman.

rozaiba:

i think sidhu`s commentary is an acquired taste sort of like eating karelas or salan wali machli. i find all these three items hard to swallow but i am willing to tolerate with the fact other people digest these items with relish.

faisal: you are welcome; actually i enjoy writing about cricket so it was a pleasure. i think i was angry when i heard the way wasim akram was treated by the PCB and how such a great cricketer`s end came and so i wrote this as a tribute then!

i am going to write one about waqar younis too--who is my favourite all time cricketer; the way he has been dropped is even more tragic. :-(

i think pakistani cricket is full of too much politics..

Wasim Akram was and is the greatest bowler ever. What I like about him is that from a run-up of few yards the man was able to generate tremendous pace and swing. Compare his run up to Shoaib or Waqar and its almost unbelievable that he was generating that amount of pace. He seldom disappointed when he played and he played to win. It was a joy to watch him bowl. I for one can not imagine Pakistan without Wasim. He was Pakistan cricket for the last ten years.

faisalsuno:

I think you have never heard Navjot Sidhu as a commentator.

If you listen to him, you will be left speechless. He is the most remarkable cricket commentator the world has ever produced. And you may think I can` t be serious saying that. But I am.

No one gives such brutal analysis on live T.V. No one.

naqshbandi:

thank you for taking the time to write this.

faisal

plats8:

let me pay you back in kind. one the best batting performances i have seen in a test match --even though i was in class III at that time-- was by sunil gavaskar who got a century in each innings of the third test match of the 1978-79 series in karachi (my home town and i was on the ground on the last day of that fateful match). in both innings, gavaskar was given out incorrectly (deliberately in my opinion), his second dismissal setting up a very exciting run chase by pakistan. gavaskar was so pissed at his second dismissal that on his way back, he spit at the umpire, he spit at the fielders and he spit the crowd. and it does take balls to spit at the karachi crowd.

btw and you might disagree with this but in my opinion, gavaskar was a better player of high caliber fast bowling than tendulker is. gavasker`s record against the most fearsome bowling attack ever assembled i.e. windies in their home turf is much better than tendulkars record against austrailans in australia.

also heartening to see indian media being do full of praise for akram. actually i find indian international commentators namely messers gavasker, shastri and manjrekar to be the best in the world. and it is a pleasure to listen to them especially if they are commentating with ian chappel or geoff boycott. i do however have to admit that sometimes i just want to gag bhogle and i think world would have been better off had sidhu been locked away even though he did beat that murder rap.

Wasim Akram...

A fantastic bowler.. entertainer batsman.. Above all.. he was gentleman on the ground. He was undoubtfully a classic natural bowler.. the proof of all this comes out in the fact that he never had to sledge to take a wicket.

being indian I could tell you all that he still have lot of fans in India too.. I have seen many of my friends feeling really sad due to retirment. he was superb cricketer. I remember him most of the times with smile on his face irrespective of hits and misses.

Regarding shirkant, even shrikant has great respect for Wasim. Wasim has taken his wicket on 7 times out of 8 and he has caught shrikant on other wicket. This is just unbelievable.

We will allways miss you Wasim Akram. Live long and happily..

This post does not mean to under rate Indians or Kris Srikkant in any way. Just a narration of facts.

I distinctly remember on one occasion when the Indian Team was touring Pakistan under Srikkant, Wasim got Srikkant out in all innings apart from one where he took Srikkant’s catch. I also remember that Srikkant was given LBW by an umpire off Wasim and Srikkant was complaining about it going back to the pavilion, when Imran called Srikkant back to the crease. The next delivery from Wasim disturbed the furniture behind Srikkant and he was back in the pavilion satisfied.

Faisaluno #13,

No need to apologise - this particular Indian well remembers that sequence
of deliveries. In fact, Prem Panicker of rediff called it one of the best deliveries
he has seen. The out-swinger that got Dravid out, and the in-swinger just
preceding it, were bowled with almost exactly the same grip, and the ball
pitched at about the same place. Dravid did essentially everything right,
and still had no chance.

I also had a close friend from Lancashire who`s watched Wasim closely
over the years. His estimate of Akram ran quite contrary to his natural
British reticence.

Akram is undoubtedly one of the top 2-3 bowlers I have ever seen. I think
most of his adversaries (including those in the Indian team) would rank him
accordingly.

I remember M.A.O College Ground in Chauburji Lahore, where Wazim was used to practicing in his early days with others guys, most prominent one was some ``Saud Khan`` looked like Imran Khan. Hitting the sixes to my roof which was straight to net. I was carried the balls from boundries most of the time I stay there and a noon-sports-newspaper. This was the only noon-newspaper at that time. Thank to my elder brother who also liked him and did not tell parents that I was spending most of my time there just watching them and sometimes even not going to school. It was terrible to miss the school and hiding in the same area near my house but what was a pleasure to watch him.
Wazim! ``I have enjoyed every bit of it, too.``
Wazim was very talkative, aggressive and dedicated at the net. I saw Imran there some times also so, may be it is Imran who would be his discoverer. Anyhow, Wasim can confirm this.

my favourite akram moment obviously has to be against india (sorry indians). 1998-99 series, madras, first test second innings, indians chasing around 270 to win, tendulkar at the n.s. end, akram bowls to dravid, pitches the ball on good length middle-and-off, gets it to straighten and traps dravid right in front. umpire stays unmoved (b**stard). akram swears at the umpire, glares at dravid, goes back to his mark and bowls the next delivery 10 mph faster. akram glares at dravid again, goes back to his mark, pitches the next ball again on good length midlle-and-off. dravid plays for in-swing. unfortunately for him, ball goes the other way and clips the top of off stump.

shaking his head, rahul dravid walks away.

``His great mentor and discoverer, the great Imran Khan, said: ``

Are you sure that Imran discovered him. I thought it was Javed. I could be wrong but that is what I read in Javed`s biography. I would like to make sure that I am right about this so if you can set the record straight, it would be great, otherwise correct me if I am wrong. Akram definitely was a champion. I will always remember the one burst he shared with Waqar and that was an indication that plenty will come in the future.

This was during the tour of NewZealand with Javed leading the team in 1993. Imran had ofcoarse retired by then. NewZealand were chasing a mere 127 for victory in the second inning. They stood at 93 for 3. I remember watching this in a restaurant in Chicago. Everyone assumed that Pakistan will lose and had started with their expert analysis on our defeat. I got up to go out to my car to get something or the other. Did some other stuff that I don`t remember. Came back in about a half hour after to see everyone in jubilation mode as NewZealand were routed from 93-3 to 113 All out. Pakistan had won the test by 13 runs. I got a tape of that game the morning after and I must tell you, if any of you ever want to see how ``never say die`` is actually done, watch this game. These two Ws were breathing fire and with a handful of runs to get it was the Newzealanders who were nervous wrecks. Wasim, Waqar, Javed, Imran, Jahangir, Jansher, have given us many such moments; Moments when we could afford the luxury of forgetting all our problems and feel the pure rush of watching the simplicity of the moment instead of the complexity of the method claiming the spirit of the sport truimphant, be it on a field or a court. The game of cricket is going to go on but there will always be a moment easily recogniseable when people in the future will step on the field and umpire will call out:``Lets Play;`` And that moment perhaps will be when he will look over his right shoulder for once instead of the usual left to see a kid starting from 15 steps behind him and call out without thinking,``The usual, Mr. Akram``

shahid:

http://www.cricket.org/link_to_database/ARCHIVE/CRICKET_NEWS/2003/MAY/183535_CI_19MAY2003.html

As headlined in a British paper - ``The Left Hand of God``.

Shahid,

... that would amount to blasphemy ... punishable by death ... by the right hand of god.


On a differnt note ... it`s refreshing to see Naqsh Sahib praising a person ... who does not necessarily belong to the same Ahle-Sunnah Ala Hazrat Wallahu Sufian-e-karam W` ahle-ba`it jamaat-e-pir-o-murshad group.

There is hope, after all.

Nice tribute to ``Sultan of Reverse Swing``.

Wasim Akram Zindabad.

As headlined in a British paper-
``The Left Hand of God``.

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...wasim is DA man...such amazing prowess from such a short run-up...could hit the best bowlers for 6`s on his day...and all this with diabetes...

Phew! Glad we beat the Bangladeshi brothers--it would have been embarassing if we had lost! Inzi zindabad!

***

One thing I forgot to mention in my tribute to Wasim is that he played throughout his career whilst suffering from diabetes and had to take 2 insulin injections daily--this makes his performance even more incredible! I think that some sports academy or stadium should be named after him in Pakistan to honour this most gifted of cricketers.

Pakistan won the match by 1 wicket... Inzi played the best innings of his life.

Wasim Akram was truly one of the greats of this century.

Most cricketers have determination and discipline. A few of these also have talent. But a cricketing mind, is something that only the eclectic, gifted ones possess.

Only those who possess these 4 ingredients can survive in international cricket for more than 13-15 years. Wasim is truly capable of playing for 20-22 years even.

As an avid cricket fan, I have my own list of Wasim`s best performances:

Wasim`s Top Five Performances

1. Twin-dismissals of Alan Lamb and Chris Lewis in World Cup `92 Final

2. Unbeaten knock to win Lord`s Test against England during 1992 Tour

3. Hatrick against Australia in Australasia Cup Final at Sharjah (1990)

4. Reverse-swing partnership with Waqar during England Test Series 1992 in which both shared 41 wickets betwen them

5. 10-wicket haul against New Zealand in his maiden tour (1984)

As a fan, I am also disappointed that he got involved in match-fixing. As captain, he could have been the perfect replacement for Imran Khan.

Wasim Akram was the kinda bowler who could bowl 6 different deliveries if he wanted to... His most memorable performance in my opinion was when he got Alan Lamb and Chris Lewis out in two deliveries... in the World Cup Final 1992.


I think Imran Khan rose up as the greatest because he was the most disciplined, focused and a man of unflinching integrity. Wasim Akram was the most naturally talented.


By the way.... Bangladesh and Pakistan are close to a nailbiting finish... thanks to a wonderful innings of 127 not out by Inzimam, or otherwise the Bangladeshis would have posted their first test win easy. People all over Pakistan and Bangladesh are glued into their TV Sets right now.