Source(google.com.pk)
Wasim Akram Biography
Full Name: Wasim Akram
Born: June 3, 1966, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Current Age: 44 Years 253 Days
Major Teams: Pakistan, Hampshire, Lahore, Lancashire,
Pakistan Automobiles Corporation, Pakistan International Airlines
Batting Style: Left-Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Left-Arm Fast
Wasim Akram born 3 June 1966 is a former Pakistani left arm
fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricket, who represented the Pakistan
national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches.
Wasim Akram is regarded as one of the best fast bowlers in
cricket history. He holds the world record for most wickets in List A cricket
with 881 and is second only to Sri Lankan off-spin bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan
in terms of One Day International wickets with 502. He is considered to be one
of the founders and perhaps the finest exponent of reverse swing bowling.
The revolutionary nature of reverse swing initially resulted
in accusations of ball tampering by cricket critics, although the skill of the
reverse swing delivery has now been accepted as a legitimate feature of ability
in cricket. Wasim Akram's later career was also tarnished with accusations of
match fixing by critics, although these remain unproven.
On 30 September 2009, Akram was one of five new members inducted
into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.
Early and Personal Life
Akram was born in 1966, in Lahore, Pakistan.
He was educated in Islamia College in Lahore, where he
played as an opening bowler and batsman. Like several other Pakistani
cricketers during the 1980s, his inclusion into the national side was at the
behest of a senior player in the team, which in Akram's case, was Javed
Miandad.
Wasim Akram 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 performances. Since then he has
actively sought to be involved in various awareness-raising campaigns for
diabetes.
He was married to Huma Mufti, in 1995. They had two sons
Taimur and Akbar, from their marriage of fifteen years. Huma died of multiple
organ failure at Apollo Hospital in Chennai, India, on 25 October 2009.
International career
First-class cricket
In 1988 he signed for Lancashire County Cricket Club in
England and went on to become their most successful overseas players. From 1988
to 1998, he opened their bowling attack in their ECB Trophy, Benson and Hedges
Cup and National League tournaments. He was a favourite of the local British
fans who used to sing a song called "Wasim for England" at
Lancashire's matches. In 1998, with Akram as captain, Lancashire won the ECB
Trophy and Axa League and finished second in the championship tournament
despite losing only five matches in all competitions throughout the season.
Apart from the National League second division title in 2003, this was the last
time Lancashire won a trophy.
Test Cricket
Akram made his Test cricket debut for Pakistan against New
Zealand in 1985 and in only his second Test match, he achieved 10 wickets in
the match. A few weeks prior to his selection into the Pakistan team, he was an
unknown club cricketer who had failed to even make it to his college team. He
came to the trials at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in Pakistan, but for the first
two days he did not get a chance to bowl. On the third day he got a chance; his
performance convincing Javed Miandad to insist upon his inclusion in the
national team. Wasim Akram was hence given an opportunity to play for Pakistan,
without any significant domestic experience. Later that season he opened the
bowling attack with Imran Khan, who became his mentor at and after the World
Championship of Cricket in Australia.
In the 1987 Cricket World Cup, when Pakistan played against
the West Indies, Akram bowled to Viv Richards in the late overs of the innings
but Richards, who is regarded as the best batsman during that period, struggled
against Akram's bowling performances.
Akram's rise in international cricket was rapid during the
late 1980s. When Pakistan toured the West Indies in 1988, he looked to be the
fastest bowler between the two sides. However, a groin injury impeded his
career in the late 1980s. Following two surgeries, he re-emerged in the 1990s as
a fast bowler who focused more on swing and accurate bowling.
One Day International
Wasim Akram was a significant figure in the 1992 Cricket
World Cup held in Australia, when Pakistan won the tournament. In the final
against England, his batting performance during his innings of 33 runs off 19
balls, pushed Pakistan to a respectable score of 249 runs for 6 wickets. Akram
then took the important wicket of Ian Botham early on the English batting
innings and when brought back into the bowling attack later on, with the ball
reverse swinging, he produced a devastating spell of bowling which led to Allan
Lamb and Chris Lewis being bowled in successive deliveries in one over. 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 was the 1996-1997 victory in the World Series Cricket
in Australia, two Test match wins in India in 1998-1999 and in 1999, when
Pakistan reached the 1999 Cricket World Cup final. The low point was the 1996
Cricket World Cup in Pakistan and India, when he had to pull out of the quarter
final match against India, citing injury. After Pakistan's defeat, there were
angry protests outside his home and riots across the country from angry fans
who accused the team of throwing the match 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 capitulated and was defeated by Australia in the final,
by eight wickets with almost 30 overs to spare. This was the start of the match
fixing controversies, as critics believed Wasim Akram had set up the match for
Australia. However, none of the allegations could be proved.
He was Pakistan's best bowler in the 2003 Cricket World Cup
taking 19 wickets in 7 matches. However, Pakistan failed to reach the
"Super Six" phase of the tournament and Akram was one of the eight
players to be sacked by the Pakistan Cricket Board as a result.
Retirement
On May 18, 2003, at the age of 36, Akram abruptly announced
his retirement from international cricket, ending a career which spanned 19
years. He had suggested that he was ready to quit several times towards the end
of his career, but Pakistan's sub-par performance in the World Cup proved to be
the deciding factor.
Prior to his retirement, he was one of eight senior players
dropped for the Sharjah Cup in April 2003, and was then omitted from the
Pakistan squad for the subsequent Bank Alfalah Cup triangular series. Due to
his omission from the team, he did not participate in a farewell match.
Wasim Akram fulfilled his contract play for Hampshire until
the end of the English season.
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