Wasim Akram

Did You Know?

• Akram started his career as a tape ball cricketer and later joined Ludhiana Gymkhana with the help of his friend Khalid Mahmood.
• He signed for Lancashire County Cricket Club in 1988 and, as captain in 1998, led them to win the NatWest Trophy and Sunday League.

Early and personal life

Wasim Akram came into the world on 3 June 1966 in Lahore, born into a Punjabi family. His father, Chaudhary Muhammad Akram Arain, hailed from a village near Amritsar and relocated to Pakistani Punjab after the 1947 partition; the family is part of the Arain community. His father began as a court proofreader, later ran an auto parts business, and for a time owned the Niagara, a single-screen cinema on Ferozepur Road, which sparked Akram’s early fondness for Hindi films.

His mother is Begum Akram, and he grew up with two older brothers, Naeem and Nadeem, and a younger sister, Sofia. He attended Government Islamia College in Civil Lines, Lahore for his early schooling. At thirty, he was diagnosed with diabetes, a surprise given his athletic fitness and no family history; doctors pointed to stress as a possible cause. In 1995, he wed Huma Mufti, with whom he had two sons, Tahmoor and Akbar.

Huma passed away from multiple organ failure on 25 October 2009 in Chennai, India. He later married Australian Shaniera Thompson on 12 August 2013, describing it as a fresh start for him and his children. The couple moved to Karachi, and their daughter, Aiyla Sabeen Rose Akram, was born in Melbourne on 27 December 2014.

International career

Akram made his Test debut against New Zealand in 1985, taking 10 wickets in his second Test. He had been an unknown club cricketer who failed to make his college team; at trials in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, his bowling convinced Javed Miandad to insist on his selection. His ODI career began against New Zealand in 1984 under Zaheer Abbas. He rose to prominence with five wickets in his third ODI against Australia in the 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship, including Kepler Wessels, Dean Jones, and Allan Border.

In the 1985–86 Austral-Asia Cup final against India, he and Imran Khan shared five wickets. During the 1987 Cricket World Cup in South Asia, he managed only seven wickets across seven matches. In the 1988–89 Benson and Hedges World Series, he took 4 for 25 against Australia. A groin injury in the late 1980s required two surgeries, after which he re-emerged in the 1990s focusing on swing and accuracy. He is the highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in both Test cricket (414 wickets) and ODI cricket.

Playing style and legacy

Akram bowled with genuine speed and hostility, with accurate control of line and length and the ability to swing the ball both ways. His quick bowling action allowed him to bowl equally well from both sides of the wicket. He mastered reverse swing, making him most dangerous late in an innings, and earned the nickname one of the 'Sultans of Swing' alongside Waqar Younis. He often attacked the stumps with a lethal inswinging yorker; of his 414 Test wickets, 193 were caught, 119 leg before wicket, and 102 bowled.

With Waqar Younis, known as 'the two Ws', he formed one of the most successful bowling partnerships in cricket. As a batsman, he was effective against spin but was criticised for slogging and giving away his wicket cheaply. In October 1996 he scored 257 not out against Zimbabwe, the highest innings by a number-8 batsman in Tests. Viv Richards rated him the best fast bowler he faced after Dennis Lillee, and Ricky Ponting called him the toughest bowler he faced, noting an unplayable ball was always around the corner.

Award and records

Akram was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1993 and received the Lux Style Award for Most Stylish Sports Person in 2003. In Tests, he took 414 wickets in 104 matches at an average of 23.62 and scored 2,898 runs at 22.64. In ODIs, he took 502 wickets in 356 appearances at 23.52 and scored 3,717 runs at 16.52. He was the first bowler to take more than 400 wickets in both forms of the game; only Muttiah Muralitharan has since done so. He held the record for most wickets in Cricket World Cups (55 in 38 matches) until Glenn McGrath surpassed it in 2007. He is one of only two bowlers, with Lasith Malinga, to achieve four or more international hat-tricks (two in Tests, two in ODIs). His Test hat-tricks came in consecutive matches in the 1998–99 Asian Test Championship against Sri Lanka. He was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame on 30 September 2009.