Waqar Younis

Waqar Younis HI
Waqar Younis at the launch of PSL in 2015
Personal information
Full name
Waqar Younis Maitla
Born (1971-11-16) 16 November 1971 (age 53)
Vehari, Punjab, Pakistan
NicknameToe Crusher[1]
Height6 ft (183 cm)[2]
BattingRight-handed
BowlingRight-arm fast
RoleBowler
RelationsAliya Riaz (sister-in-law)
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 111)15 November 1989 v India
Last Test2 January 2003 v South Africa
ODI debut (cap 71)14 October 1989 v West Indies
Last ODI4 March 2003 v Zimbabwe
ODI shirt no.99
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1987/88–1997/98Multan
1988/89–1996/97United Bank Limited
1990–1993Surrey
1997–1998Glamorgan
1998/99Karachi
1978Rawalpindi
1999/2000REDCO Pakistan Limited
2000/01Lahore Blues
2001/02–2002/03National Bank of Pakistan
2003Warwickshire
2003/04Allied Bank Limited
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 87 262 228 411
Runs scored 1,010 969 2,972 1,553
Batting average 10.20 10.30 13.38 10.42
100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/6 0/0
Top score 45 37 64 45
Balls bowled 16,224 12,698 39,181 19,841
Wickets 373 416 956 675
Bowling average 23.56 23.84 22.33 22.36
5 wickets in innings 22 13 63 17
10 wickets in match 5 0 14 0
Best bowling 7/76 7/36 8/17 7/36
Catches/stumpings 18/– 35/– 58/– 56/–
Medal record
Men's Cricket
Representing  Pakistan
ICC Cricket World Cup
Runner-up 1999 England-Wales
-Ireland-Scotland-Netherlands
Source: ESPNCricinfo, 21 April 2012

Waqar Younis Maitla HI (Punjabi, Urdu: وقار یونس میتلا; born 16 November 1971) is a Pakistani cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer who captained Pakistan national cricket team. A right-arm fast bowler, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time.[3] He is the former head coach of the Pakistani cricket team.[4] He was a part of the squad which finished as runners-up at the 1999 Cricket World Cup.

As of 2021, Younis holds the record for being the youngest Pakistani Test captain and the fourth youngest Test captain in history (22 years 15 days).[5] He played 87 Tests and 262 One Day International (ODI) matches for Pakistan during his international cricket career from 1989 to 2003.[6]

Younis' trademark was his ability to reverse swing a cricket ball at high speed.[7] He took 373 Test wickets and 416 One Day International wickets during his career. Together with bowling partner Wasim Akram, he formed one of the world's most feared bowling attacks.[8] Younis has the second best strike rate, after Dale Steyn, for any bowler with over 350 Test wickets.[9] He is the youngest bowler to take 400 wickets in ODI cricket.[10]

He is also placed in the top ten of all time based on ICC rankings.[11]

He worked as a bowling coach with the national side from 2006 to 2007.[12] Waqar was appointed the coach of the Pakistan cricket team on 3 March 2010.[13][14] He resigned as Pakistan's cricket coach on 19 August 2011 citing personal reasons.[15][16] He joined Sunrisers Hyderabad as their bowling coach for the Indian Premier League 2013 season.[17]

On 4 September 2019, Younis was appointed by the PCB as Pakistan's new bowling coach on a 3-year contract.[18] He replaced Azhar Mahmood, who was sacked after Pakistan's disappointing performance in the ICC World Cup 2019 tournament.

  1. ^ "Keep calm and celebrate like a #Prince – The story behind Islamabad United nicknames". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  2. ^ Bill Ricquier, The Pakistani Masters, Tempus (2006), p. 161 : "He was not as tall as Wasim, about six feet, compact and sturdy."
  3. ^ "Waqar Younis Profile – ICC Ranking, Age, Career Info & Stats". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis step down from roles". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Records / Test matches / Individual records (captains, players, umpires) / Youngest captains". ESPNcricinfo. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Waqar Younis". ESPNcricinfo. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference king was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference retirement was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Records / Test matches / Bowling records / Best career strike rate". ESPNcricinfo. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  10. ^ "Ask Steven – Youngest to reach wickets' milestiones". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  11. ^ MULLER, ANTOINETTE. "The ICC Ranking System's Top 10 Bowlers in Test Cricket History". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  12. ^ "Waqar Younis appointed bowling and fielding coach". ESPNcricinfo. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  13. ^ "Waqar Younis signs as Pakistan coach". ESPNcricinfo. 3 March 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  14. ^ "PCB confirms Waqar as coach". ESPNcricinfo. 6 March 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  15. ^ "Waqar Younis resigns as Pakistan coach". ESPNcricinfo. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  16. ^ "Waqar Younis resigns as Pakistan coach". espnstar.com. 20 August 2011. Archived from the original on 18 September 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  17. ^ "Waqar joins Sunrisers as bowling coach". Wisden India. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  18. ^ "Misbah-ul-Haq named Pakistan head coach and chief selector". The News. 4 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.