Wasim Akram facts for kids
Akram in 2018
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| Full name |
Wasim Akram
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| Born | 3 June 1966 Lahore, West Pakistan |
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| Nickname | Sultan of Swing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Left-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Left-arm fast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations |
Huma Akram
(m. 1995; died 2009) |
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| International information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 102) | 25 January 1985 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 8 May 2002 v Bangladesh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 53) | 23 November 1984 v New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 4 March 2003 v Zimbabwe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI shirt no. | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1984–1986 | Pakistan Automobiles Corporation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1985–1987, 1997–1998, 2000–2001 | Lahore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1998 | Lancashire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–2003 | PIA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Hampshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Source: CricInfo, 4 April 2012
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Wasim Akram (Punjabi, Urdu: وَسیم اکرم; born 3 June 1966) is a famous Pakistani cricket commentator, coach, and former cricketer. He was also the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Many people consider Akram to be one of the greatest bowlers of all time. He is often called The Sultan of Swing because of his amazing bowling skills.
In October 2013, Wasim Akram was the only Pakistani cricketer chosen for an all-time Test World XI. This special team was picked to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. As captain, he led Pakistan to the finals of the 1999 Cricket World Cup. They lost to Australia in that match. However, he was part of the Pakistani team that won the 1992 Cricket World Cup.
Wasim Akram was a left-arm fast bowler who could bowl very quickly. He holds the world record for the most wickets in List A cricket, with 881 wickets. He is second only to Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan for the most wickets in ODI matches, with 502 wickets. He is also known for being one of the first and best players to use reverse swing bowling.
He was the first bowler to reach 500 wickets in ODI cricket. He achieved this during the 2003 Cricket World Cup. In 2002, Wisden ranked Wasim as the best ODI bowler ever. He took 23 four-wicket hauls in his 356 ODI matches. On 30 September 2009, Akram was added to the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He has also worked as a bowling coach for different teams.
The Government of Pakistan gave him the Hilal-e-Imtiaz award on 23 March 2019. This award was for his great achievements in cricket throughout his life.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Family Background
Wasim Akram was born on 3 June 1966 in Lahore. His family is Punjabi. Akram's father, Chaudhary Muhammad Akram Arain, was from a village near Amritsar. His family moved to Pakistani Punjab after the partition of India in 1947. Their family belongs to the Arain community.
His father worked as a court proofreader and also had a business selling car parts. For some time, he ran a cinema called Niagara. This is how Akram developed an early love for Hindi cinema.
His mother's name is Begum Akram. He has two older brothers, Naeem and Nadeem, and a younger sister, Sofia.
Education
Wasim Akram went to school in Lahore. He completed his early education at Government Islamia College.
Health
When he was 30 years old, Akram found out he had diabetes. He said it was a big shock because he was a healthy sportsman. There was no history of diabetes in his family. Doctors told him that stress can sometimes cause it. Since then, he has helped with many campaigns to raise awareness about diabetes.
Relationships
Akram married Huma Mufti in 1995. They had two sons, Tahmoor and Akbar. Huma passed away on 25 October 2009.
On 12 August 2013, Akram married Shaniera Thompson, an Australian woman. He met her in Melbourne in 2011. He said he started a new life with his wife and children.
He moved from Lahore to Karachi with his family. On 27 December 2014, Shaniera gave birth to their daughter, Aiyla Sabeen Rose Akram, in Melbourne.
Cricket Career
Playing for Clubs
Akram started playing cricket with a tape ball. He later joined Ludhiana Gymkhana. His first big cricket match was for BCCP Patron's Eleven against the New Zealand team.
In 1988, Akram joined Lancashire County Cricket Club in England. He played for them until 1998. He was very popular with the fans there. In 1998, with Akram as captain, Lancashire won two important tournaments. They also finished second in the County Championship.
International Test Matches
Akram played his first Test cricket match for Pakistan against New Zealand in 1985. In his second Test match, he took 10 wickets. Before joining the Pakistan team, he was not well-known. He got a chance to bowl at trials and impressed Javed Miandad, who insisted he join the national team.
Wasim Akram quickly became famous in international cricket in the late 1980s. He was part of the Pakistan team that visited the West Indies in 1988. After two surgeries for a groin injury, he returned in the 1990s. He became known for his swing and accurate bowling.
Wasim Akram holds the record for the most wickets for Pakistan in Test cricket, with 414 wickets.
One Day International Matches
Akram began his ODI career against New Zealand in Pakistan in 1984. He became well-known by taking five wickets in his third ODI against Australia in 1985. Wasim Akram is currently the highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in One Day International cricket.
Early International Success
In the 1985–1986 Austral-Asia Cup, Akram helped Pakistan bowl out New Zealand for only 64 runs. Pakistan won that game easily. In the final against India, he and Imran Khan took five wickets together.
In the 1987 Cricket World Cup, Akram took 7 wickets. In the 1988–89 Benson and Hedges World Series, he took 4 wickets for 25 runs against Australia.
Akram took his 100th wicket in 1989. In the same match, he took his first hat-trick against the West Indies. All three batsmen were bowled out. On 4 May 1990, he took his second ODI hat-trick against Australia.
From 1986 to 1989, he took 100 wickets. By December 1991, Akram had taken 143 wickets in 107 matches.
Becoming a World Star
| Wasim Akram's International Match Results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn | Tied | No result | |
| Test | 104 | 41 | 27 | 36 | 0 | – |
| ODI | 356 | 199 | 145 | – | 6 | 6 |
Akram was a key player in the 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Pakistan won the tournament. In the final against England, he scored 33 runs quickly. Then, he took important wickets, including Ian Botham, Allan Lamb, and Chris Lewis. His performance earned him the Man of the Match award for the final.
In 1993, Akram took two sets of four wickets in a row against Sri Lanka. In the 1992–1993 Total International Series, he took his 200th wicket. Akram took 46 wickets in 1993, which was his best year in ODIs.
In the 1996 Cricket World Cup, Akram missed the quarterfinal match against India, which Pakistan lost. Between 1994 and 1996, he took 84 wickets in 39 matches. In September 1998, he briefly announced his retirement due to allegations. However, he decided to continue playing after the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board asked him to.
Later Career
In 1999, he led Pakistan to the World Cup finals, where they lost to Australia. He was Pakistan's best bowler in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, taking 12 wickets in 6 matches. However, Pakistan did not reach the next stage of the tournament. Akram was then removed from the team.
Amazing Records and Achievements
Akram won 17 Man-of-the-Match awards in 104 Test matches. He took four hat-tricks in international cricket: two in ODIs and two in Tests. He shares the record for most international hat-tricks with Lasith Malinga. He also won 22 Man-of-the-Match awards in ODIs.
In 199 ODI wins, he took 326 wickets. His score of 257 not out against Zimbabwe in 1996 is the highest score by a number-8 batsman in Tests. He hit 12 sixes in that game, which is still a world record for the most sixes in a single Test innings.
Before he retired, he was one of eight senior players left out of the team for the Cherry Blossom Sharjah Cup 2003. He then finished his contract with Hampshire until the end of the English season.
After Retirement
Media Work
Since retiring from cricket, Akram has become a popular television commentator. He works for networks like ESPN Star Sports and ARY Digital. He has commented on many major cricket tournaments, including the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup and the 2011 ICC World Cup.
Coaching
In 2010, Akram became a bowling coach consultant for the Kolkata Knight Riders, an Indian Premier League team. He has helped many young bowlers, including Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, improve their skills.
Akram has also coached in Pakistan's fast bowling camps. He helped discover talented teenage bowlers like Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan. He has worked as a director and bowling coach for different teams in the Pakistan Super League, including Islamabad United and Multan Sultans. He is currently the chairman and bowling coach of Karachi Kings. He is also the Vice President of the Kashmir Premier League.
Playing Style and Legacy
Wasim Akram was known for his fast and aggressive bowling. He had excellent control over where he bowled the ball. He could make the ball swing both ways, which made him very dangerous. He was especially good at reverse swing, which meant he was most effective towards the end of a bowling innings. This skill earned him the nickname "Sultan of Swing."
He often aimed for the stumps and had a very powerful inswinging yorker. Out of his 414 Test wickets, 193 were caught, 119 were leg before wicket, and 102 were bowled. Along with Waqar Younis, they were known as "the two Ws" and were one of the most successful bowling pairs in cricket.
As a batsman, he was good against spin bowlers. He sometimes liked to hit big shots. His batting was also important for Pakistan in ODI matches. For example, in the Nehru Cup in 1989, he hit a six off the first ball he faced to win the match.
The great West Indian batsman Viv Richards said Akram was the best fast bowler he ever faced after Dennis Lillee. Ricky Ponting also said Akram was one of the toughest bowlers he faced.
In 2013, Wisden included him in an all-time Test World XI.
Beyond Cricket
Television Shows
| Year | Show | Role | Language | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena | Judge | Hindi | India |
| 2016 | The Sportsman Show | Host | Urdu | Pakistan |
| 2017 | Geo Khelo Pakistan | |||
| 2022 | Jeeto Pakistan League | Guest |
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Money Back Guarantee | Akram | Film debut |
Awards and Records
Akram was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1993. He also won the Lux Style Award for Most Stylish Sports Person in 2003.
- In his Test career, Akram took 414 wickets in 104 matches. This is a Pakistani record. He also scored 2,898 runs.
- In One Day Internationals, Akram took 502 wickets in 356 matches and scored 3,717 runs.
- Akram was the first bowler to take more than 400 wickets in both Test and ODI cricket. Only Muttiah Muralitharan has done this since.
- Akram held the record for the most wickets in Cricket World Cups, with 55 wickets. Australia's Glenn McGrath broke this record in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
- Akram is one of only two bowlers, along with Lasith Malinga, to have taken four or more hat-tricks in international cricket. He took two in Tests and two in ODIs.
- He is one of only six players to have taken four wickets in one over during a Test match.
- Akram scored 257 runs not out against Zimbabwe. This is the highest score by a number eight batsman in Test cricket. He hit 12 sixes in that innings, which is a world record for most sixes in a Test innings.
- He has the joint-third highest number of Man of the Match awards in Test cricket, with seventeen.
- He has scored the second-highest number of runs in One Day International matches without ever scoring a hundred.
- He is the only Test cricketer to take ten or more wickets three times in a Test match and still be on the losing side.
- He holds the record for facing the most balls in a Test match as a number 8 batsman (363 balls).
- He was the first bowler to take 500 ODI wickets. He still holds the record for taking the most ODI wickets as a fast bowler (502).
- Wasim Akram is the only person to take over 100 ODI wickets at the same ground (122 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium).
- He holds the record for taking the most ODI wickets as a captain (158).
See also
- Pakistan Cricket Board
- International Cricket Council
- Imran Khan
- Waqar Younis
Autobiography
Akram's autobiography, called Sultan: A Memoir, was published in 2022. It was written with cricket writer Gideon Haigh.
