Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram, by name King of Swings, Pakistani cricket player generally regarded as the greatest left-handed bowler of all time, arguably among the very best fast bowlers ever, and an outstanding all-rounder, who helped lead Pakistan to the World Cup championship of one-day international (ODI) cricket in 1992.

Waseem Akram born June 3, 1966, Lahore, Pakistan into an upper-middle-class family and was brought up in the comfortable suburb of Modeltown. His father was a successful businessman, and Akram was sent to the Cathedral School in Lahore, where his main sporting obsession was table tennis. From age 10 he lived with his grandparents, and his grandfather, a passionate cricket follower, introduced Akram to the sport.

Akram is regarded as one of the best fast bowlers in the history of cricket. 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 One Day International wickets with 502. He is considered to be one of the founders and perhaps the finest exponent of reverse swing bowling.

The revolutionary nature of reverse swing initially resulted in accusations of ball tampering by cricket critics, although the skill of the reverse swing delivery has now been accepted as a legitimate ability in cricket. Akram’s later career was also tarnished with accusations of match fixing by critics, although these remain unproven.

Akram was diagnosed with diabetes at the peak of his career but despite the initial psychological blow, he managed to regain his form and went on to produce fine cricketing performances. Since then he has actively sought to be involved in various awareness-raising campaigns for diabetes.

On 30 September 2009, Akram was one of five new members inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.