Wasim Akram

"Sultan of Swing" redirects here. For the song by Dire Straits, see Sultans of Swing.

Wasim Akram

HI
Akram in 2018
Personal information
Full name
Wasim Akram
Born (1966-06-03) 3 June 1966 (age 58)
Lahore, West Pakistan
NicknameSultan of Swing
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1]
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingLeft-arm fast
RoleBowling all-rounder
Relations
Huma Akram
​
​
(m. 1995; died 2009)​

​
(m. 2013)​
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 102)25 January 1985 v New Zealand
Last Test8 May 2002 v Bangladesh
ODI debut (cap 53)23 November 1984 v New Zealand
Last ODI4 March 2003 v Zimbabwe
ODI shirt no.3
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1984–1986Pakistan Automobiles Corporation
1985–1987, 1997–1998, 2000–2001Lahore
1988–1998Lancashire
1992–2003PIA
2003Hampshire
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA
Matches 104 356 257 594
Runs scored 2,898 3,717 7,161 6,993
Batting average 22.64 16.52 22.73 18.90
100s/50s 3/7 0/6 7/24 0/17
Top score 257* 86 257* 89*
Balls bowled 22,627 18,186 50,278 29,719
Wickets 414 502 1,042 881
Bowling average 23.62 23.52 21.64 21.91
5 wickets in innings 25 6 70 12
10 wickets in match 5 0 16 0
Best bowling 7/119 5/15 8/30 5/11
Catches/stumpings 44/– 88/– 97/– 147/–
Medal record
Men's Cricket
Representing  Pakistan
ICC Cricket World Cup
Winner 1992 Australia and New Zealand
Runner-up 1999 England-Wales
-Ireland-Scotland-Netherlands
Asia Cup
Winner 2000 Bangladesh
Runner-up 1986 Sri Lanka
Source: CricInfo, 4 April 2012
This article contains Urdu text. Without proper rendering support, you may see unjoined letters running left to right or other symbols instead of Urdu script.

Wasim Akram HI (Punjabi, Urdu: وَسیم اکرم; born 3 June 1966) is a Pakistani cricket commentator, coach, and former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Akram is regarded as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. He is often revered as The Sultan of Swing.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] 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.[9][10][11][12] As captain, he led Pakistan to the finals of the 1999 Cricket World Cup, where they lost to Australia by 8 wickets. He was a part of the Pakistani squad which won the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

A left-arm fast bowler who could bowl with significant pace, 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 in total. He is considered to be one of the founders, and perhaps the finest exponent of, reverse swing bowling.[13][14][15]

He was the first bowler to reach the 500-wicket mark in ODI cricket, and he did so during the 2003 World Cup. In 2002, Wisden released its only list of the 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, Glenn McGrath and Muralitharan.[16] Wasim took 23 four-wicket hauls in 356 ODI matches played.[13] On 30 September 2009, Akram was one of five new members inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.[17][18] He was the bowling coach of the Kolkata Knight Riders.[19] However, he took a break from the position for IPL 6, citing a need to spend more time with family in Karachi,[20] and he took a further break from IPL 2017; he was replaced by Lakshmipathy Balaji.

He was working as director and bowling coach of Islamabad United in Pakistan Super League until he left to join Multan Sultans in August 2017.[21] In October 2018, he was named in the Pakistan Cricket Board's seven-member advisory cricket committee.[22] In November 2018, he joined PSL franchisee Karachi Kings as President. [23]

The Government of Pakistan awarded him the Hilal-e-Imtiaz on 23 March 2019 for his lifetime achievements in the field of cricket.[24]

  1. ^ "Akram keeps his tryst with destiny". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 April 2022. […] Wasim Akram hasn't done too badly. Playing in his 354th one-day international at Paarl on Tuesday, the legendary six foot three inches tall left-arm quick […]
  2. ^ "Who is the greatest ODI bowler of all time?". ESPNcricinfo.
  3. ^ "The Best Fast Bowlers of All Time". The Sporting Blog.
  4. ^ "Best Cricket Bowlers of All Time". www.stadiumtalk.com.
  5. ^ Qamar Ahmed (8 March 2013). "Wasim Akram was the best I ever faced, says Kallis". dawn.com.
  6. ^ Khabir Uddin Mughal. "Wasim Akram One of Greatest Bowlers of All Time". Sporteology. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  7. ^ Khabir Uddin Mughal. "Wasim Akram, Best ODI Bowler in History". Sporteology. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  8. ^ Khabir Uddin Mughal. "Top 10 Greatest Cricketers of All Time". Sporteology. Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  9. ^ "Don Bradman, Shane Warne in Wisden's XI". theaustralian.com. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  10. ^ "Sachin Tendulkar in Wisden's All-time World Test XI". NDTV. 23 October 2013. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  11. ^ "Sachin Tendulkar named in Wisden all-time World Test XI". DNA India. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  12. ^ "WG Grace and Shane Warne in Wisden all-time World Test XI". BBC.co.uk. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
  13. ^ a b Wasim Akram, ESPNcricinfo, retrieved 21 April 2012
  14. ^ Career Bowling – Most Wickets, ESPNcricinfo, 30 April 2007, archived from the original on 29 June 2007, retrieved 21 April 2012
  15. ^ List A Limited-Overs Most Wickets in Career, ESPNcricinfo, 30 April 2007, archived from the original on 31 December 2003, retrieved 21 April 2012
  16. ^ "All-time W100 ODI Top 10s". ESPNCricinfo. 27 January 2003. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  17. ^ "ICC Cricket Hall of Fame". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  18. ^ "Wasim Akram, Steve Waugh inducted into ICC Hall of Fame". MSN Sports. Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
  19. ^ "Kolkata Knight Riders". iplt20.com.
  20. ^ "IPL news : Wasim Akram takes break as KKR bowling coach | Cricket News | Indian Premier League | ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo.
  21. ^ "Multan Sultans reunite Wasim, Waqar for PSL". ESPNcricinfo. 2 August 2017.
  22. ^ Yaqoob, Mohammad (27 October 2018). "PCB forms seven-member cricket committee". Dawn.
  23. ^ "PSL 4: Wasim Akram Joins Karachi Kings as President". Live Cricket Streaming Online. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  24. ^ ""You're proof that dreams come true," Shaniera congratulates Waseem Akram on receiving the Hilal-i-Imtiaz". dawn.com. 24 March 2019.