Birth of the Burewala Bombshell. There have been few more scintillating sights in cricket history than Waqar Younis in his pomp. With batsman hopping and stumps flying, he and Wasim Akram took reverse-swing to a new level in the early 1990s with their toe-crushing yorkers. He was at his best in the early 1990s - after bursting onto the scene against New Zealand in 1990-91, Waqar took 109 wickets over a three-year period at an average of 18.07, at the incredible strike rate of 33.55 balls per wicket. He later became captain of Pakistan, and took 7 for 36 - the second-best figures in ODI history - against England at Headingley in 2001. He was also a huge success in county cricket, first for Surrey and then Glamorgan, for whom he took a career-best 8 for 17 against Sussex at Swansea in 1997.
Waqar Younis is just 35 years old. I wonder why did he took his retirement that early. Even Inzamam is older than him. We know if we had Waqar Younis, he could be a great asset to the team.
^ Actually, his performance had improved in his last few years, especially after he became captain. His 7/36 in the ODI against England was no mean achievement. He retired at age 32, the same age Shoaib Akhtar will be when he comes out of his 2-year ban.
You probably are right, he got like 53 wickets in his last year, but from what I remember he wasn't as effective as he used to be before being captain, his RPO had gone up.
He could lead Wasim Akram in wickets for sure. I even rate Glen McGrath higher above those because he is still improving more day by day and openers find hard to play against him; also, he is accurate.