Wasim Akram aka the Sultan of Swing turns 56 today. One of the all-time bowling greats and an icon of world cricket was born on June 3, 1966, in Lahore.
"First of all, convince yourself that you are the best because the rest of your life is going to go proving this to others", says Wasim, a talisman of swing bowling. The former Pakistan captain who is regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time had a reputation for turning matches in his team's favor when times got tough.
Once in a generation talent Akram surprisingly never played any first-class cricket before he burst on the international stage in Pakistan colors. This will raise many eyebrows but Akram could never be a part of his college team too. Leaving all the rejections and criticism behind, Wasim appeared for the trials conducted in the Gaddafi Stadium. The blue-eyed boy of Pakistan cricket who was born into a Punjabi Arain family was just a spectator for the first two days, but when his chance came, he impressed the iconic Javed Miandad straightaway and he insisted the selectors to pick Akram up for the national team. Rest, as they say, is history.
Akram debuted against New Zealand on November 23, 1984, in the second ODI at Faisalabad. Surprisingly, when he made his first Test appearance for Pakistan, he was still facing New Zealand, in Auckland, in their backyard. Akram delivered on the big stage and grabbed a fifer in both innings. The cricketing world went into a frenzy as they knew that they were witnessing something special, something they had never seen before. A regular member of the Pakistan side till the late 1980s, Akram's woes began when injury concerns started plaguing his career.
Legends don't stay down for too long and this was the case with Wasim too. After having multiple surgeries, Akram started working towards his fitness and returned to the international circuit. By this time the left-handed great had tasted the success of a World Cup victory in 1992 under the leadership of Imran Khan, one of Pakistan's greatest captains. Akram tirelessly started working on the art of swing and along with his bowling partner Waqar Younis, he went to create some iconic moments for Pakistan cricket.
Akram made the art of swing bowling look extremely easy which never was the case. The legendary fast bowler could penetrate through anybody's defense and he went on to claim many wickets and even hat-tricks. Wasim achieved the extraordinary feat of becoming the first player to claim 500 ODI wickets in 2003 world cup and bowed out of international cricket after it.
