Inzamam-ul-Haq

Source:(google.com.pk)
Inzamam-ul-Haq Biography 
Born March 3, 1970, Multan, Punjab
Current age 41 years 241 days
Major teams Pakistan, Asia XI, Faisalabad, ICC World XI, ICL Pakistan XI, Lahore Badshahs, Multan, National Bank of Pakistan, Rawalpindi, United Bank Limited, Yorkshire
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Slow left-arm orthodox

Inzamam-ul-Haq is a symbiosis of strength and subtlety. Power is no surprise, but sublime touch is remarkable for a man of his bulk. He loathes exercise and often looks a passenger in the field, but with a willow between his palms he is suddenly galvanised. He plays shots all round the wicket, is especially strong off his legs, and unleashes ferocious pulls and lofted drives. Imran Khan rates him the best batsman in the world against pace. Early on he is vulnerable playing across his front pad or groping outside off stump. He uses his feet well to the spinners, although this aggression can be his undoing. Inzi keeps a cool head in a crisis and has succeeded Javed Miandad as Pakistan's premier batsman, but his hapless running between wickets is legendary and most dangerous for his partners. There were no such problems against New Zealand at a boiling Lahore in 2001-02, when Inzamam belted 329, the second-highest Test score by a Pakistani and the tenth-highest by anyone. However, he was then dogged by poor form, scoring just 16 runs in Pakistan's ill-fated World Cup campaign in 2003. He was dropped from the team briefly, but then roared back to form, scoring a magnificent unbeaten 138 and guiding Pakistan to a thrilling one-wicket win against Bangladesh at Multan. He was rewarded with the captaincy of the team, and despite leading them to victory in the Test series in New Zealand, question-marks about his leadership qualities surfaced when Pakistan were beaten in both the Test series and the one-dayers against India. But the selectors persevered with him and this bore results when he took a team thin on bowling resources to India and drew the Test series with a rousing performance in the final Test, Inzamam's 100th. After scoring a magnificent 184, Inzamam led the team astutely on a tense final day and took Pakistan to victory. Since that day, Inzamam has gone from strength to strength as captain and premier batsman. By scoring a hundred against West Indies in June 2005, he kept up a remarkable record of matchwinning centuries, amongt the best of modern-day batsmen. A magnificent year ended with Inzamam leading his team to triumph over Ashes-winning England; personally the series was arguably his best ever. He never failed to make a fifty, scored twin centuries at Faisalabad for the first time, going past Miandad as Pakistan's leading century-maker and joining him as only the second Pakistani with 8000 Test runs. As captain, he never looked more a leader, uniting a young, inexperienced team and turning them, once again, into a force to matter globally. The turn of the year brought contemplation; he missed the Test victory over India at Karachi with a persistent back injury. The subsequent ODI thrashing also raised concerns about Inzamam as ODI captain, none of which were entirely wiped away during ODI and Test wins in Sri Lanka. Pakistan were then beaten comprehensively in the Test series in England though all was forgotten - including Inzamam's own poor form - by events at The Oval. There, Inzamam, astonishingly for a man perceived as so insouciant, became the most controversial figure in cricket for a week, leading his side off the field in protest at charges of ball tampering made by umpires Billy Doctrove and Darrell Hair. They refused to come out at first, then delayed the start before eventually forfeiting the Test, the first time in the history of the game. In Pakistan, he became a national hero, saviour of a country's pride and honour. He was banned for four ODIs and returned to lead the side to a series-win over West Indies followed by a disappointing Test series in South Africa, and then quit the one-day game after Pakistan were eliminated from the World Cup at the first hurdle, an event overshadowed by the death of Bob Woolmer. Even though he expressed his desire to be part of the Test team, Inzamam was not offered a central contract in July and, according to a few, might signal the end of his illustrious international career.

He, however, made that decision himself after signing up for the Indian Cricket League and faced a life-time ban from PCB. He later quit the ICL and made himself available for selection. The second Test against South Africa in Lahore was his farewell game. He fell just two short of Javed Miandad's record for the highest Test aggregate by a Pakistan batsman and 60 short of a career average of 50.

Inzamam-ul-Haq

Inzamam-ul-Haq

Inzamam-ul-Haq

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Inzamam-ul-Haq

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Inzamam-ul-Haq

Muhammad Hafeez

Source:(google.com.pk)
Muhammad Hafeez Biography
Mohammad Hafeez, Cricketers is famous for Cricket, Pakistani celebrity. Born on 17 October, 1980

Mohammad Hafeez is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler. Hafeez generally opens the batting and is also skilful boundary fielder.

Hafeez was one of the several young all-rounders the Pakistani cricket team turned to after their poor Cricket World Cup display in 2003, in which they were eliminated in the first round.

Hafeez scored a half-century on his Test debut against Bangladesh, and in his following Test hit a century. His form with bat and ball would then drop considerably and in late-2003 he was dropped from the Test squad, and soon after the ODI side. With strong domestic performances as well as good showings for the Pakistan A, he remained on the fringes of a recall in 2004. Hafeez returned to the ODI side in 2005 and despite not contributing with the bat, his bowling performances were impressive. In the 2006 Top End Series held in Australia, Hafeez smashed a century for Pakistan A. With Pakistan struggling to find a solid opening pair for Test cricket, Hafeez was recalled for the tour of England. His return to Test cricket was made at The Oval and he scored a fluent 95. Later that year in November, Hafeez retained his place in the side for their home series against the West Indies. After getting starts in the first two Test he would go on to score his 2nd Test century in the 3rd Test in Karachi.

In 2010 he was recalled for the 3rd ICC World T20 Cup. he had poor form in it but showed signs of class batting. He was subsequently recalled again for the T20Is and the ODIs on Pakistan's tour of England. He had some good scores in it and had some solid partnerships with opener Kamran Akmal.

Following this good form he was also in the squad that was selected to play South Africa in the UAE. After some impressive score in the opener slot, he was again rewarded with now a test call up. He had some decent scores in the test matches and bowled some tidy overs of offspin as well.

At the end of 2010 he was also selected for the party that would tour New Zealand. In all of the T20s he made some good scores including a 46.

In the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, he started the tournament with a few poor scores with the bat, and was consistent with the ball. Especially 10 overs for just 26 runs against Australia and 2 wickets for 16 runs in quarter final. In the quarter-final against West Indies, Hafeez provided a major contribution to the team's victory with 2 wickets and 60*, receiving the player of the match award. Also in the semi final he scored 43 runs and took a wicket for 31 runs in 10 overs although Pakistan lost the match.

In the tour of the West Indies, Hafeez continued his good form with both bat and ball scoring 267 runs in 5 matches with an average of 53.40, and took 6 wickets at an average of 23.50. . He made his second One Day International century in the 4th ODI, where he scored 121 runs before being bowled by the promising leg spinner Devendra Bishoo.

Muhammad Hafeez

Muhammad Hafeez

Muhammad Hafeez

Muhammad Hafeez

Muhammad Hafeez

Muhammad Hafeez

Muhammad Hafeez

Muhammad Hafeez

Muhammad Hafeez

Muhammad Hafeez

Muhammad Hafeez

Saqlain Mushtaq

Source:(google.com.pk)
Saqlain Mushtaq Biography
Saqlain made his international debut in September 1995 playing against Sri Lanka at Peshawar. He picked up four wickets at an average of 26.75 in the first test of the series. The highlight of his Test career came in the away series against India in January/February 1999, where he achieved his first ten wicket haul in a test match. In the first test, with India needing only 17 runs to win, Saqlain effectively sealed Pakistan's win by taking the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar who had scored 136. He ended the series with excellent figures, taking twenty wickets at an average of 20.15, which earned him the Man of the Series award.


Saqlain represented Surrey for eight successive seasons, from 1997 to 2004. However, his time there was interrupted and his international career with Pakistan effectively ended when he suffered a serious knee injury in 2004.

In August 2005, he played his first match after recovering from injury against Bangladesh A, and took 4-87 from 35 overs bowled over two innings. However that same week, in his return to the County Championship, he conceded 110 off 28 overs against Gloucestershire, taking just one wicket.

In February 2006, he signed for Ireland for the C&G Trophy, along with fellow team mate Abdul Razzaq.

Later in February 2007, Sussex announced that Saqlain had signed a two-year contract with them. His initial requirement was to cover for fellow Pakistanis, Mushtaq Ahmed and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan who were part of Pakistan's World Cup campaign. On 26 September 2007, Saqlain was released by the county on his request. On 8 October 2007 Saqlain was re-signed by Surrey.

On 28 October, according to Cricinfo, he was released by Surrey.

In April 2009 he joined Old Whigiftians CC to play in the Surrey Championship. He took 64 wickets in a very destructive first season, including five 5WH to earn Whits promotion to the first division. He was also heavily involved in the youth setup. In 2010, after relocating to Leicestershire, he joined Syston Town Cricket Club, playing in the Everards County League.

Saqlain is credited with the invention of the "doosra", an off-spinner's delivery which is bowled with an action very similar to that of an off-break. However, it spins in the opposite direction (i.e. from the leg side to the off side), easily confusing batsmen, making it a very effective weapon. Saqlain became well-known for this variation ball, which was integral to his success, although he received criticism for overusing it.

His other variation was the arm-ball, which again uses a similar action to the off-break, but causes the ball to go straight on without turning.

During his time at Surrey, Saqlain worked on developing new deliveries which he calls the "teesra" and the "chotha". However little else is known about these deliveries.

 Saqlain was selected as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 2000.

A statistcal analysis conducted by Wisden in 2003 revealed Saqlain as the all-time greatest ODI spinner, and sixth greatest of all ODI bowlers.
Was the fastest to reach the milestones of 100, 150, 200 and 250 wickets in ODIs.
 He is the only spinner to have taken a hat-trick in an ODI, and one of only three bowlers to have taken two ODI hat tricks (Wasim Akram and Chaminda Vaas being the others), the second of which was only the second hat-trick in a World Cup match.
Saqlain spent almost three years out of cricket, actively promoting the religion of Islam in local communities.

After marrying a British citizen, Saqlain gained a British passport, which made him eligible to play for England after a four-year qualification period that ended in April 2008.
The inventor of the doosra talks spin, Twenty20 and county cricket. Sitting comfortably in a fold-up chair in the Players' Dining Room outside the Surrey dressing room after the first day of the game against Kent at The Oval, arms moving about as he simulates bowling actions and shots batsmen have attempted against him, Saqlain Mushtaq looks every bit the seasoned cricketer. Add on the flowing beard and Islamic skull cap and he resembles something of a sage. Listen to sport and religion blend together in his conversation and you're taken in by his boyish simplicity. Place it all in perspective of where he's been the last few years, and you have a man relishing another chance to play cricket.

Saqlain started as a teenage wonder, making his Test debut at 19, and became the quickest to 100 one-day-international wickets, flummoxing batsmen with the magic delivery that went the other way. He helped Surrey to the English County Championship title three times in four years, had his career damaged by injury, and made an unsuccessful attempt in 2004 to force his way back into Pakistan's Test side, against India in Multan - a game where he was made to look like a nets bowler by Virender Sehwag, who made an epic 309.

A year ago, ravaged by the second of two serious knee injuries, Saqlain looked a shadow of the bowler he had been in his international pomp. It appeared his career was over. "It was hard. Injuries played their part, and there were some selection issues. It's in the past," he says, his eyes fleetingly turning away behind us, where fastened on the white wall are dozen of framed photographs of Surrey's last glory years, of which he was a starring part with 384 wickets at 20.79 in 80 matches.

The group stage of the Twenty20 Cup has just wrapped up and it's back to four-day cricket, where Saqlain has always been a star at his adopted home, The Oval. "I thrive on cricket. It don't matter what the format, I just want to bowl," he says.

The art of the other one
I'd heard he was reticent and uncommunicative, that you had to prod, and you'd be lucky to receive monosyllabic answers. But I found a friendly individual, who within seconds of hearing I spoke Urdu, grabbed my hand and led me into the Surrey dressing room, proceeding to parade me before Abdul Razzaq, Usman Afzaal and Scott Newman. A barrier, one that perhaps existed in the words of others, had been broken.

I suggest that perhaps an overdose of playing one-day cricket affected his bowling in Tests, but he brushes that aside. "Never. Alhamdulillah, I was fortunate to be able to adjust to conditions and pressure early in my career and as I progressed. Test cricket, one-day cricket, Twenty20, all of these I picked up easily. I figured out each format early."

The doosra, he says with pride, is a weapon he honed during his youth, playing at home on the terrace. "We used to play as boys using a table-tennis ball; that's where I picked it up. I then bowled it in professional cricket later. Later I played with the taped ball, which is big in Pakistan. It worked there too."

There has been criticism that Saqlain used the doosra too much, particularly early in his career, but the man himself is quick to defend his methods. He talks about observing the way a batsman stands at the crease, what his preferred shots are, his style. "If a batsman is playing straight, not cutting or playing much to the off side, or is playing more off his legs, then I bowl where he's uncomfortable, making him play. Often to the non-Asian batsmen, who I feel are susceptible, I used to bowl the doosra first to give them a jhatka [shock]. The Asian players - Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans - their footwork is better and they have a better understanding of how to play spin, using their wrists, so I had to be more observant and not try too much too soon."

"Allah gave me a talent and variety in my bowling, and after that whatever I learned was from Twenty20 cricket

Wasim Akram regularly used Saqlain inside the first 15 overs of an ODI, as well as at the death - often even in the penultimate over. "The thinking was just that I had to get batsmen out," Saqlain says with a hearty laugh. "The ball is hard at the start and soft by the end but I never thought about such things. I had one thing on my mind and that was getting wickets. If you stray here and there and don't think about what's important - line and length - then negatives can creep into your head. Wasim bhai backed me and I just had to deliver."

Oh to be in England
Saqlain is only 31 but has assumed the role of senior statesman in the Surrey dressing room. The move to English county cricket, he says, was crucial. "Those were great years. You develop your game, you learn. I want to work hard and bring back those years to Surrey."

A veteran on the county circuit, having gone from Surrey to Ireland to Sussex and now back to Surrey, Saqlain says the moves were not purely for financial reasons but targeted at gaining exposure. "You definitely need to play in different conditions, on different tracks, against different batsmen. You learn a lot that way. And I took what I learned playing in England back to the international level. If you play in one place or against one type of player, you won't go anywhere. "

There was speculation over his future after he left Sussex halfway through a two-year deal. Saqlain had not featured much that summer and made only four Championship appearances taking 14 wickets. "I went to Sussex because I had no other option at the time. They looked after me very well, they kept in mind my expectations and gave me a deal which matched my requirements," he says matter-of-factly. "But I came back here to London mainly because there are better education options for my three children. I'm conservative and wanted my kids to get a proper Islamic education. That wasn't there for me up in Sussex. I've been settled in London since 1998 and my family and relatives and friends are all here. Commuting and looking after the kids' education became tough. The kids have a good school here. Thankfully, Surrey approached me with a deal, it worked out well, and I here I am."

And what of the rigorous county schedule? "We play a lot of cricket in England and it is demanding, but that's your job and you learn to adjust. I enjoy it, keeps me busy."

He only smiles and nods when asked if his readiness to play for England - he's qualified for a British passport through marriage - still stands, but is eager to point out that apart from Monty Panesar, the spin scene in England is weak. And he should know. "Until now, Monty's [Panesar] the only quality spinner I've seen. Spin has never been England's strength. I've not seen anyone extraordinary on the circuit. There are good bowlers, definitely, but no one really stands out. Shaun [Udal] was good but he's aged; [Graeme] Swann is playing for England in one-day cricket, but he's not extraordinary - he's good for one-day cricket but that's it. Monty's the real deal. Adil Rashid bowls well. He hasn't gotten the wickets he deserves but he's a good spinner."

Adapting to the short stuff
Taking a swig of Powerade, Saqlain moves on to Twenty20 cricket, which is all the rage these days in the wake of the IPL and Allen Stanford's agreement with the English authorities.

"In Pakistan we've been playing such formats for some time," he replies when asked if it was a format that took getting used to after 49 Tests and 169 one-day internationals. "Allah gave me a talent and variety in my bowling, and after that whatever I learned was from Twenty20 cricket. It helped me a lot - learning to change lengths and such. I had no problems adjusting to the format. My job is to take wickets, and I'm comfortable doing that in any format."

At the height of his international career Saqlain was a master of innovation, mixing flatter, restrictive deliveries up with tempting flighted ones. The key in Twenty20, he says, is variation. "Obviously, in Twenty20 cricket you need to make some adjustments: the length you bowl, the pace, because the batsman is always looking to dominate. You really need to adjust quickly; it's just that type of game. The batsman will always think that there's nothing to lose. Also, the fielding is different."

And what of these new innovative shots - the switch-hit, the reverse sweep, the paddle-scoop? "They are encouraging. If it works, it looks good, but if it doesn't, I'm going to get a wicket," he says with a smile. "You really have to look at the margin of your line and length, and make sure you don't give them much width to play these fancy shots. That's what bowling - more so spin - is all about in Twenty20 cricket: line and length."

In Twenty20, one would think more spinners would be encouraged to bowl flat and quick because the ball will still be hard and relatively new? "That depends on how you want to bowl," Saqlain says. "There's a lot of research and homework being done, people analysing videos and such. Last year, when I was at Sussex, they felt the slower I bowled, the more effective I was," he reveals. "It seemed the batsmen were easier able to hit the quicker, flatter balls.

"It depends how comfortable the bowler feels. In Twenty20 cricket you definitely need to vary your length. But if you look at the scorecards of the past year, you'll see that the average wicket-runs ratio has come down in favour of spinners who've bowled slow, using flight and length as their weapons."

There are also cues to pick up from a batsman before delivering the ball. "You have to really observe what's happening in a very short span of time. You've got to be quick to pick up on a batsman's style, his aggression, his back lift. There's plenty to analyse beforehand, but out on the field you need to try and see where he's lacking in positivism, if at all. I can usually pick up how a batsman is thinking. It's easier in Twenty20 cricket, obviously."

During Saqlain's international career deep midwicket and long-on, often even mid-on, used to be key field placements when he bowled. How does he set his field these days? "Offspinners rely on drift into the batsman and get more chances on the leg side. There are changes in the game now that require you to change your field placing," he says. "For example, if a batsman is reverse-sweeping, I remove midwicket from the circle and place him at short fine leg for the top edge. If he's sweeping for singles repeatedly, I may push a man back to encourage the second, and then slip in a quicker one for a stumping, a caught-and-bowled... I don't want to give away my tricks!

"But I most always keep a deep midwicket because batsmen fancy playing with the turn. If someone's not looking to work the ball to the on side, I'll then drop the midwicket and use the man somewhere else."

Meanwhile, back in Pakistan
The talk moves back to his international career. Apart from a series of knee injuries, Saqlain slowly fell out of the reckoning in Pakistan's one-day line-up because the management started preferring batsmen who could bowl part-time spin - the likes of Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, and Shahid Afridi, who starkly indicative of the current scene, is Pakistan's No. 1 spinner in ODIs. Why the dearth of quality spinners?

You've got to be quick to pick up on a batsman's style, his aggression, his back lift. I can usually pick up how a batsman is thinking. It's easier in Twenty20 cricket, obviously

"Matters in Pakistan change a lot. It's all politics. We've had so many selection committee changes. No one seems to know what needs to be done, what makes a good spinner. So that hurts the process, and spinners can't just come up the ranks.

"You don't just become a spinner, you have to be made into one. You need to be coached and groomed. Pakistan isn't producing quality spinners or opening batsmen. There are no fast bowlers of the likes of Wasim and Waqar either, which is sad. Look at [Abdur] Rehman, who played two Tests and then was gone. It reflects on the changes in the board."

Saqlain says he often closes his eyes and goes back to his first Test wicket (Sri Lanka's Chandika Hathurusingha in Peshawar, 1995), which he took with his seventh delivery. "It was unbelievable. I can never forget that. I was just 19.

"I remember a lot of wickets. They stay in my mind. My favourite was getting Sachin Tendulkar in the Chennai Test in 1999... but if someone tells you that they can remember every shot played and wicket taken, they're lying."

He looks at his watch and says he needs to leave. As we descend the steps from the pavilion down towards the Alec Stewart Gate, one of the umpires, former Test player Rob Bailey, emerges from a side entrance. "Saqi" he smiles, making a spinning motion with his right hand. "Looks like there's going to be some turn out there tomorrow. You must be looking forward, eh?" Pat comes the confident, boyish reply. "Of course, I'm always ready."

Saqlain's Pakistan career is over but he's embracing another shot at county cricket with open arms. The poor impersonator from Multan in 2004, lacking in confidence, rhythm and mystery, is thankfully gone and a fresher, more positive Saqlain is back. Here's hoping he can bring the smiles back to the faces of the Surrey fans, and those who remember his feats on the international scene.

Saqlain Mushtaq 

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Umer Gul

Source :( Google.Com.Pk )
Umer Gul Biography
he slightest-overvalued but the largest part flourishing and guaranteed Pakistan velocity creation of the preceding only some years, Umar Gul is the most recent in Pakistan’s congregation-line of swiftness-bowling  aptitude. He had played just nine first-class matches at what time called up for national duty in the rouse of Pakistan’s deprived 2003 World Cup. On the smooth tracks of Sharjah, Gul performed commendably,
maintaining tremendous regulation and being paid appreciable out swing with the new ball.

He is not articulate although bowls an extremely swift profound ball and his outstanding have power over and capability to take out line of stitching movement symbols him out. Auxiliary, his height enables him to haul out bounce on the majority outsides and from his natural back of a length, it is a constructive attribute. His first immense moment in his profession came in the Lahore Test in opposition to India in 2003-04. Unfazed by a intimidating batting line-up, Gul slashed all the way through the Indian top order, affecting the ball both ways off the ridge at a jagged velocity. His 5 for 31 in the first innings gave Pakistan near the beginning proposal which they troop home to win the Test.

Unluckily, that was his final cricket of any kind for over a year as he exposed three pressure fractures in his back right away later than the Test. The wound would have wrecked several an international professions, although Gul came back, fitter and sharper than previous to in late 2005. He came back in a Pakistan shirt in  opposition to India in the ODI series at home in February 2006 and in Sri Lanka given an idea about further signs of treatment by permanent both Tests but it was in actuality the second half of 2006, where he completely came of era. Leading the harass in opposition to England and then the West Indies as Pakistan’s main bowlers endured injuries, Gul stood tall, finishing Pakistan’s best bowler.

Since after that, as Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar have struggled, Gul has turn out to be Pakistan’s forefront and one of the most excellent swift bowlers in the world. He is smart sufficient and good adequate to achieve something in all three set-ups and 2009 proved it: he put collectively a scrap of wicket-taking in ODIs, on departed pitches in Tests (together with a profession-best six-wicket haul in opposition to Sri Lanka) and recognized himself as the world’s most excellent Twenty20 bowler, coming on later than the early overs and firing in Yorkers on demand.

He had oblique at that by being most important wicket-taker in the 2007 World Twenty20; over the after that two years he overwhelmed wherever he went, in the IPL for the Kolkatta Knight Riders and in Australia’s domestic Twenty20 tournament. Corroboration came on the grandest phase: having poleaxes Australia in a T20I in Dubai with 4-8, he was the best bowler and leading wicket-taker as Pakistan won the second World Twenty20 in England. The best part was 5-6 in opposition to New Zealand, the uppermost quality demonstration of Yorker bowling. He is not a one-format pony, on the other hand, and will hang about a vital component in Pakistan’s attack across all formats.

Umer Gul

Umer Gul

Umer Gul

Umer Gul

Umer Gul

Umer Gul

Umer Gul

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Umer Gul

Umer Gul

Umer Gul

Waseem Akram

Source:(google.com.pk)
Waseem Akram Biography
Wasim Akram born 3 June 1966 is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricket, who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches.

Wasim Akram is regarded as one of the best fast bowlers in cricket history. 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 feature of ability in cricket. Wasim Akram's later career was also tarnished with accusations of match fixing by critics, although these remain unproven.

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

Akram was born in 1966, in Lahore, Pakistan.

He was educated in Islamia College in Lahore, where he played as an opening bowler and batsman. Like several other Pakistani cricketers during the 1980s, his inclusion into the national side was at the behest of a senior player in the team, which in Akram's case, was Javed Miandad.

Wasim 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.

He was married to Huma Mufti, in 1995. They had two sons Taimur and Akbar, from their marriage of fifteen years. Huma died of multiple organ failure at Apollo Hospital in Chennai, India, on 25 October 2009.

In 1988 he signed for Lancashire County Cricket Club in England and went on to become their most successful overseas players. From 1988 to 1998, he opened their bowling attack in their ECB Trophy, Benson and Hedges Cup and National League tournaments. He was a favourite of the local British fans who used to sing a song called "Wasim for England" at Lancashire's matches. In 1998, with Akram as captain, Lancashire won the ECB Trophy and Axa League and finished second in the championship tournament despite losing only five matches in all competitions throughout the season. Apart from the National League second division title in 2003, this was the last time Lancashire won a trophy.

Akram made his Test cricket debut for Pakistan against New Zealand in 1985 and in only his second Test match, he achieved 10 wickets in the match. A few weeks prior to his selection into the Pakistan team, he was an unknown club cricketer who had failed to even make it to his college team. He came to the trials at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in Pakistan, but for the first two days he did not get a chance to bowl. On the third day he got a chance; his performance convincing Javed Miandad to insist upon his inclusion in the national team. Wasim Akram was hence given an opportunity to play for Pakistan, without any significant domestic experience. Later that season he opened the bowling attack with Imran Khan, who became his mentor at and after the World Championship of Cricket in Australia.

In the 1987 Cricket World Cup, when Pakistan played against the West Indies, Akram bowled to Viv Richards in the late overs of the innings but Richards, who is regarded as the best batsman during that period, struggled against Akram's bowling performances.

Akram's rise in international cricket was rapid during the late 1980s. When Pakistan toured the West Indies in 1988, he looked to be the fastest bowler between the two sides. However, a groin injury impeded his career in the late 1980s. Following two surgeries, he re-emerged in the 1990s as a fast bowler who focused more on swing and accurate bowling.

Wasim Akram was a significant figure in the 1992 Cricket World Cup held in Australia, when Pakistan won the tournament. In the final against England, his batting performance during his innings of 33 runs off 19 balls, pushed Pakistan to a respectable score of 249 runs for 6 wickets. Akram then took the important wicket of Ian Botham early on the English batting innings and when brought back into the bowling attack later on, with the ball reverse swinging, he produced a devastating spell of bowling which led to Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis being bowled in successive deliveries in one over. His excellent performances earned him the Man of the Match award for the final.

He also captained Pakistan with some success. The high points of his captaincy was the 1996-1997 victory in the World Series Cricket in Australia, two Test match wins in India in 1998-1999 and in 1999, when Pakistan reached the 1999 Cricket World Cup final. The low point was the 1996 Cricket World Cup in Pakistan and India, when he had to pull out of the quarter final match against India, citing injury. After Pakistan's defeat, there were angry protests outside his home and riots across the country from angry fans who accused the team of throwing the match and a government inquiry was launched into the failure.

In 1999, he led Pakistan to the brink of victory in the World Cup before they capitulated and was defeated by Australia in the final, by eight wickets with almost 30 overs to spare. This was the start of the match fixing controversies, as critics believed Wasim Akram had set up the match for Australia. However, none of the allegations could be proved.

He was Pakistan's best bowler in the 2003 Cricket World Cup taking 19 wickets in 7 matches. However, Pakistan failed to 

reach the "Super Six" phase of the tournament and Akram was one of the eight players to be sacked by the Pakistan 

On May 18, 2003, at the age of 36, Akram abruptly announced his retirement from international cricket, ending a career which spanned 19 years. He had suggested that he was ready to quit several times towards the end of his career, but Pakistan's sub-par performance in the World Cup proved to be the deciding factor.

Prior to his retirement, he was one of eight senior players dropped for the Sharjah Cup in April 2003, and was then omitted from the Pakistan squad for the subsequent Bank Alfalah Cup triangular series. Due to his omission from the team, he did not participate in a farewell match.

Wasim Akram fulfilled his contract play for Hampshire until the end of the English season.

Since retiring from cricket, Akram has worked and taken up commentary for television networks and can currently be seen as a sports commentator for ESPN Star Sports, ARY Digital and among others. He did commentary on a variety of sporting tournaments including the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup match between Australia v India in a Super Six Match held in Australia, the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England, the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa and among others.

In 2010, Akram was appointed the bowling coach consultant of Kolkata Knight Riders, the Indian Premier League team for Kolkata. Sourav Ganguly was always keen to have Akram as the bowling coach for India, during the former's stint as Indian captain. Although this never happened, his dreams were realised to some extent, when Akram was appointed as the bowling coach for the franchise. While working for the Kolkata Knight Riders, he was also responsible for the signing of Pakistani domestic left-arm fast-bowler Mohammad Irfan. Akram has also been coaching in Pakistan fast bowling camps; his most notable discovery being the teenage Pakistani international, Mohammad Aamer.

During his professional career he bowled with genuine speed and hostility. Akram was a man possessed of accurate control of line and length, accompanied by seam and swing bowling skills, extended to both inswingers and outswingers. With a very quick bowling action, he could bowl equally well from both sides of the wicket. His mastery of reverse swing with the cricket ball meant he was at his most dangerous towards a bowling innings, and earned him the nickname of the "Sultan of Swing".

As well as often being able to find the edge of the bat, Akram would also focus his bowling attack on the stumps and had a particularly lethal inswinging yorker. Of his 414 Test wickets, 193 were taken caught, 119 were taken leg before wicket and 102 were bowled. In partnership with Waqar Younis, he intimidated international batsmen in the 1990s. Together Wasim and Waqar, known as "the two Ws" of the Pakistani team, were one of the most successful bowling partnerships in cricket.

Wasim Akram was also skilled with the bat and was regarded as a bowling all-rounder. He was especially effective against spin bowlers. However, he liked to slog and was criticised for his lack of high scores and giving away his wicket too cheaply for a player of his talent. He did silence his critics and the media in October 1996 when he scored 257 runs not out, of the team's total of 553 against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura. He also achieved good scores for the Pakistan team such as his scores of 123 and 45* against Australia to take Pakistan to victory in a low scoring match. His batting was also valuable to the Pakistan ODI side, such as his match winning performance in the Nehru Cup, when needing six runs and two balls to win the match; he hit the first delivery he faced for six runs and secured the cup.

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram