Wasim Akram: Sultan of Reverse Swing

BOMBAY, 23 May 2003 — As in his active career, rich as any in cricket history, so in his untimely retirement, Wasim Akram continues to provide prolific fodder for debate.

For me the many-faceted debate would start with the retirement itself. Wasn’t this decision forced on him by an ungrateful administration back home? The ultimate sack, which came in the wake of a gross overreaction to Pakistan’s rather poor performance in the last World Cup, was, perhaps, too much for an all-time great fast-bowler to take.

For a cricketer of his caliber and status, he had been dropped and even divested of the captaincy far too many times and, on most occasions, for reasons other than cricket. It speaks volumes for his tremendous commitment to the national team that he did not carry any rancor. He swallowed so many insults. Nothing would stop him form giving his very best to the cause of the team.

Pakistan is in the process of building a new team. They certainly have a lot of young talent for the job. But this indeed was the time for someone as great as Wasim Akram to be around. The youngsters, especially the pace bowlers, who will make the grade, will never realize what they are missing in terms of guidance.

Wasim Akram has been described as “A miracle man,” “Sultan of reverse swing,” and as an ultimate tribute, his mentor, Imran Khan described him as one of the greatest fast bowlers of the century, along with West Indies’ Michael Holding.”

Akram was indeed the greatest left-arm fast bowler of all time. One is mindful of the likes of Allan Davidson, Gary Gilmour and Gary Sobers, when one is saying this. The way he has toiled for 19 years as the spearhead of the Pakistani attack, capturing over 900 wickets in international cricket (Tests and one-dayers) puts him far ahead of those mentioned above. As a left-handed all-rounder Wasim Akram would rank second only to the great Sir Garfield Sobers.

The “miracle” part of the tribute is perhaps the least known aspect of his tremendous career. No cricketer, and a pace bowler at that, has defied so many injuries, ailments and infirmities as Wasim Akram.

At some time or the other, every pivotal point in Akram’s body has been knocked about, including the groin, intercostal muscle, shoulder and pelvic bones. Then there have been the hernias, appendicitis, surgery and what not. His greatest fight, however, has been against acute diabetes. Imagine a top international cricketer taking the field for a six-hour hard labor with a large dose of insulin injected into him. A greater part of his 900-plus wickets and over 6,000 runs have been achieved while in this state of his health. If this is not a miracle tell me what it is? And to think that it is not these infirmities but an ultimate and unbearable humiliation that has forced him to call it a day as a player for Pakistan.

Another debate would be on the question of morality. Yes he was drawn into the match-fixing controversy and the Justice Qayyum report even suggested that he ought not to be leading the Pakistani team. The report, however, cleared his name from all charges that were leveled against him by several of his own colleagues. If it was so, why was the captaincy not re-conferred on him?

A close look at the Pakistan team’s decline in the last three years would reveal that the main reason for the deteriorating international standard was in-fighting amongst the top players. Although Wasim Akram struck one of the most lethal fast-bowling combinations in the history of the game with Waqar Younis, the two not only haunted the opposition but also haunted each other. With Shoaib Akhtar joining this rampaging duo, fast bowling was taken to great heights. But did Pakistan gain enough from this trio working in tandem? Not as much as one would have expected. The reason: The seniormost was not asked to call the shots.

Imran Khan himself would not grudge if an opinion rated Wasim Akram as the greatest cricketer Pakistan has ever produced, neither would Hanif Mohammad or Zaheer Abbas or Javed Miandad. Imran was a legend and one of the game’s outstanding personalities. Wasim, for all the contribution to his team and the game, was modest and well-disciplined.

Wasim easily made friends even as he displayed his hostility in no uncertain manner on the field. He has a host of friends and well-wishers in India. Two of India’s top pace bowlers, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, in particular, have benefited a lot from Wasim’s advice and crucial tips, which were so willingly given. In fact Ashish Nehra’s bowling style is a copy of Wasim Akram’s.

It is sad to see one of the greatest cricketers make such a quiet exit from the game he adorned with so much grace and majesty. The sight of Wasim Akram rushing to the bowling crease from not-too-long a run-up to bowl the greatest variety of deliveries will be sorely missed the world over.