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Wasim Akram (Urdu: وسیم اکرم; born 3 June 1966) is a former Pakistani cricketer. He was a genuine left arm fast bowler who could bowl with significant pace who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International (ODI) matches. In October 2013,Wasim Akram was the only Pakistani cricketer to be named in an all-time Test World XI to mark the 150th anniversary of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.[1][2][3][4]
Akram is regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of cricket. 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 ODI wickets with 502. He is considered to be one of the founders and perhaps the finest exponent of reverse swing bowling. Akram had a very special talent to move the ball both ways in one delivery which is called "double swing of Wasim Akram". No one in cricket history has done it so far.[5][6][7]
He was the first bowler to reach the 500-wicket mark in ODI cricket during the 2003 World Cup. In 2002 Wisden released its only list of best players of all time. Wasim was ranked as the best bowler in ODI of all time with a rating of 1223.5, ahead of Allan Donald, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Joel Garner, Glen McGrath and Muralitharan.[8] Wasim has taken 23 4-wicket hauls in ODI in 356 matches he played.[5] On 30 September 2009, Akram was one of five new members inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.[9][10] He is the bowling coach of Kolkata Knight Riders.[11] but took a break from the position for IPL 6 citing a need to spend more time with family.[12]
Early and personal life
Wasim Akram was born in Lahore on 3 June 1966 in an Arain family of Lahore.[13] He was educated at Government Islamia College Civil Lines Lahore, where he played as an opening bowler and batsman.[14] 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.[15]
At the age of 30, Akram was diagnosed with diabetes. "I remember what a shock it was because I was a healthy sportsman with no history of diabetes in my family, so I didn't expect it at all. It seemed strange that it happened to me when I was 30, but it was a very stressful time and doctors said that can trigger it."[16] Since then he has actively sought to be involved in various awareness campaigns for diabetes.[17]
Akram married Huma in 1995.[18] They have two sons Tahmoor (born 1996) and Akbar (born 2000)[19] from their marriage of fifteen years. Huma died of multiple organ failure at Apollo Hospital in Chennai, India on 25 October 2009.[20]
On 7 July 2013, it was reported that Akram had become engaged to Melbourne woman Shaniera Thompson, whom he had met while on a visit to Melbourne in 2011.[21] Wasim Akram married his Australian girlfriend, Shaniera Thompson on August 12, 2013, saying he has started a new life on a happy note."I married Shaniera in Lahore last week in a simple ceremony and this is the start of a new life for me, my wife and for my kids".[22]
Records
Akram won 17 Man-of-the-Match awards in 104 tests. He took 4 hat-tricks in International cricket – two in ODIs.[30][33] and two in Tests,[48][49] He finished with 22 Man-of-the-Match awards in ODIs. In 199 ODI match wins, he took 326 wickets at under 19 apiece with a run rate of 3.70 and took 18 four-wicket hauls.[26] His 257 not-out against Zimbabwe in 1996 is the highest innings by a number 8 batsman in tests. He hit 12 sixes in that, most by anyone in a test innings.[50]
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.[51] Due to his omission from the team, he did not participate in a farewell match. Akram fulfilled his contract play for Hampshire until the end of the English season.
Post retirement
Media career
Since retiring from cricket, Akram has worked and taken up commentary for television networks and can currently be seen as a sports commentator for ESPN Star Sports and ARY Digital among others. He did commentary on a variety of sporting tournaments including the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup in Australia, the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England, the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa, and the 2011 ICC World Cup in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Coaching career
In 2010, Akram was appointed the bowling coach consultant of Kolkata Knight Riders, the Indian Premier League team for Kolkata. Sourav Ganguly was always keen to have Akram as the bowling coach for India, during the former's stint as Indian captain. Although this never happened, his dreams were realised to some extent, when Akram was appointed as the bowling coach for the franchise.[53] While working for the Kolkata Knight Riders, he was also responsible for the signing of Pakistani domestic left-arm fast-bowler Mohammad Irfan.[54] Akram has also been coaching in Pakistan fast bowling camps, his most notable discovery being the teenage Pakistani bowler Muhammad Amir.
Award and records
Akram was awarded Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1993 for his sporting achievements. He was awarded Lux Style Award for Most Stylish Sports Person in 2003.
In his Test career, Akram 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.[65]
In One Day Internationals, Akram took 502 wickets in 356 appearances, at an average of 23.52 and scored 3,717 runs, at an average of 16.52.[6]
Akram 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.[6][65]
Akram 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 Cricket World Cup, ending with a final tally of 71 from 39 matches.[66] 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."[67]
Akram took four hat-tricks in international cricket, two each in Tests matches and One Day Internationals. He is the only bowler in cricket to have achieved four hat-tricks. He was the third of only four bowlers to have taken two Test cricket hat-tricks, the others being Hugh Trumble, Jimmy Matthews and Stuart Broad. Akram was also the first of only five bowlers to have taken two One Day International cricket hat-tricks. Akram's Test hat-tricks are significant, since they were taken in consecutive Test matches in the same series, a game played against Sri Lanka in the 1998-99 Asian Test Championship. Akram is also one of only two bowlers to have taken both a Test match and One Day International hat-trick, the other being Pakistan fast bowler, Mohammad Sami.[68][69]
Playing in a Test series against the West Indies at Lahore in 1990–1991, he became one of only six players to have taken four wickets in an over during a Test match. In Akram's case, these achievement was not part of a hat-trick, the third ball he delivered to the batting opposition was a dropped catch, which allowed a single run.[70][71]
Akram has also achieved the highest score by a number eight batsman in Test cricket when he scored 257 runs not out from 363 balls against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura. The innings contained 12 sixes which is also a world record for Test cricket.[72][73]
He also has the third highest number of Man of the Match awards in Test cricket, with seventeen.[74]
He has scored the record number of runs in One Day International matches by a player who has never scored a One Day International hundred. His highest score was 86 runs.[75]
He is the only Test cricketer in the world(as of Feb 2013) to take ten or more wickets thrice in a test match and still end up on the losing side
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