some time dedicated to Wasim Akram ......
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Great Man, responsible for Wasim's International Cricket...
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and here u got the reward ........
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Yes, U Can Do That!!!!
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and here u go.....
What a Power we had.....
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Never mind.... Time goes on....
Let him enjoy his personal life now :)
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God I'm in tears again.I can't think of watching Pakistani cricket without Wasim.I think that Pcb should request Wasim to play at least last series so we fans can give him a memorable farewell.
“…..He can even bowl with an orange…”
this was the reply Sachin Tendulkar gave to my friend. The Indian, Pakistani and few english players were visiting gulf countries for a number of exhibition matches. After one of the match during the dinner my friend, a huge die hard fan of Wasim Akran went to Tendulkar and asked him who was the best bowler he had faced or a question of that nature, hoping he would say Wasim Akram. Tendulkar’s reply was “Courtney Walsh” so my friend asked what about Wasim Akram ……
wasim 
God he is the best .Mera dil kehta hai ke Wasim bhai zarur aayen ge Inshallah.So we fans can give him a large farewell the one he deserves.
Wasim Akram: The unceremonious xxit!
By Dr Ehtasham Anwar
After having been treated in a humiliating manner, Wasim Akram, undoubtedly the greatest fast bowler the game of cricket has ever seen, stunned his fans, no less than millions all across the globe, by announcing his premature retirement. Even though he performed exceptionally well in the World Cup, with the ball and the bat alike, the rest of his senior teammates, especially the batsmen, failed to deliver resulting in the first round departure of the team which many of the critics regarded had the best chances to win.
On their arrival back home, the cricket controlling body in Pakistan put the entire blame on the senior players alone with ease and without taking into consideration their respective performances, treated them even handedly. None of them was selected for Sharjah Cup and not even for the triangular series in Sri Lanka. The humiliation was more than a cricketer of Wasim Akram’s stature could endure who finally called it a day.
As far as the statistics of the World Cup go, Wasim Akram took 12 wickets in six matches at an average of 16.75 falling behind only the wicket hauls of Vasbert Drakes and Chaminda Vaas.
The story didn’t end here. Most of the times during the same tournament, he performed exceptionally well with the bat as well and collected runs at a fast pace. For a player who batted low down the order, an average of 24 was no less than a feat especially if he did so with a strike rate of 103! As an all-rounder he did exactly what he was supposed to do. What else on earth could Akram have done to show form and class to our selectors? Now if the others didn’t perform well, why should have he been punished for that? Was this his fault?
For a country where many regard cricket next only to the religion, one can’t take the cricket fans for granted. As the chief selector, Aamer Sohail must give a statement in public as to why was Wasim not selected for the team. And since he did this with the consent, (read advice) of the PCB chief General Tauqir Zia himself should also share the responsibility of this untimely decision of Wasim Akram and clarify his position.
The plea of “making way for juniors” would not be very convincing since the same could have been done in the presence of Wasim Akram in a far better way. Wasim could have transferred the tricks of the bowling trade to his juniors. Likewise the logic of “declining age” would also not be acceptable for as long as a player is fit, and performs as well, there is no need to raise the ageing issue.
People say that Wasim had taken the decision in haste. Not so in my opinion. He took the decision after seriously taking into consideration his chances of making a comeback. Only two persons could have brought him back: the chief selector or the PCB boss. Considering Wasim’s well-known differences with Aamer, his appointment as the chief selector was a clear sign that doors of international cricket would thenceforth be closed on Wasim.
As regards the PCB chief, General Tauqir has himself admitted in one of his recent interviews that Wasim called on him before leaving for England to discuss his future plans. The General then told Wasim that he himself (Wasim) was the best judge and the decision should clearly be his own. Wasim thus failed to hear what he should have desperately looking for, from the chief. He was not given assurance of reselection in the team. The writing was very much there on the wall and Wasim was quick to read it. He announced his retirement soon afterwards. Does anyone still think it was a premature decision?
Chief PCB and Aamer Sohail have now paid rich tributes to Wasim Akram and said a player like Wasim would never be found again. If so, then what was the fun in dumping the one they were already having? As if it was not enough, now the PCB is offering Wasim Akram to have a grand farewell. Wasim Akram should not accept the peanuts and turn down the offer gracefully. His fans can arrange far larger ceremonies for him!
On its part, the PCB should not accept Wasim’s retirement or should do it conditionally. He should be selected back in the team and allowed to play cricket till the forthcoming home series with South Africa in September in order to stay fit. The last one-day match of the series should then be arranged at the Gaddafi Stadium, the biggest stadium of Pakistan, and dedicated to Wasim Akram and among the applause of thousands of his countrymen there, he should be allowed to leave the ground never to come back.
The same evening a grand farewell can then be arranged at the same venue with free entry for all. May be this way we will be able to make some amends for the unceremonious exit that Wasim Akram has been obliged to select for himself. Wasim should also show a bit of flexibility in this regard. He should take his decision back for the time being so that others could send him off in a manner truly befitting a player of his stature. This will not be a favour done to him; it is something he rightly deserves as what the cricket bible, Wisden, has called him the greatest fast bowler of the century.
This is not the first time a player, who has given prime of his life to cricket, has been shown the exit door in a humiliating fashion. The list is infact long and unending with Wasim only a recent addition in it. True that Wasim had his share of controversies in his illustrious career but then he has already paid dearly for that in the form of censures, fines and a ban on captaincy. Mental stress, he went through, was no less agonizing.
But now at the verge at the end of his career, we should put all those bad memories behind and focus on his skills as the most devastating exponent of the fast bowling alone. What an irony that as selectors, players of far short a stature than that of Wasim Akram had been given the final say in the selection of this legendary player. Remember, cricket chiefs, selectors, coaches and managers come from obscurity and go back there, but players like Wasim Akram are not born every day!
The writer is an Islamabad based freelance columnist [email protected].
I guess no one noticed the last article this guy wrote .. Right ?
URL: dawn
*The left arm that swung the world *
*By Sohaib Alvi *
The left-arm demon of cricket has bid farewell to the International arena for good. But will his greatness be replaced? Only time will tell if Pakistan did good to its hero or not.
As Initially there was the feeling that this was some kind of prank. And there was good reason too. Why would Wasim Akram, one of the most successful bowlers of all time, announce his retirement, over a cup of team, during a break in a country game, on a quiet Sunday afternoon? But it was all true, the announcement and the tea.
Wasim stunned the world with his announcement that he was quitting international cricket. For 18 years Wasim had towered above just about all cricketers of his time.
Wasim had been saying throughout the World Cup that he wanted to go out on a high. When Pakistan was booted out like gatecrashers, one felt Wasim would reserve his adieu for a home series. Or the romantic farewell: a game against India. But the only cricketer to take more than 400 wickets in both Tests and One-Day Internationals was perhaps hurt at twice being overlooked for the Sharjah and Sri Lanka trips. Considering himself an unlikely choice for the forthcoming tour of England in June, he decided that enough was enough.
That he chose to announce the most important decision of his 18-year career at his adopted home of Old Trafford, rather than Gaddafi Stadium was perhaps symbolic of his feelings. He had been considering a short trip home to talk to his lawyers over his appeal to remove the stigma the Qayyum report had attached to his name, and could have announced it then from his home city of Lahore.
Again, that he chose to do so in England, to members of the foreign press, and not in Pakistan in front of the Pakistani media, leads one to read between the lines. It has been a polite snub, to the local media as well as to the PCB. He has perhaps felt let down as he ventured to have a fourth chance at captaincy of Pakistan, especially in the South African World Cup.
PCB had also referred to the ICC for an NOC regarding any new developments and was at least publicly not putting pressure on them to reply soon. In fact there was a news that the ACU chief, Sir Paul Condon, had passed on information that there were some enquiries being followed up post-World Cup and Wasim was one of suspects.
This too should have been aggressively followed up openly by PCB as a Pakistani player's name had been mentioned without any display of proof. But no right noises came from Lahore.
There was also no response forthcoming from the ICC and perhaps this also frustrated and irritated Wasim to the extent that he threw in the towel.
*But with a wave of the hand, the magic had gone. The arm that had launched a thousand wreckages in Test and One-Day cricket was apparently going to rest in peace. The ghosts of victims past would of course continue to rest in pieces. *
He will be most remembered for bowling the two balls in the 1992 Final, which cut-off England's head in two swift blows. As Allan Lamb threatened to challenge the Pakistani total, he was stunned by a ball delivered from around the wicket that angled toward middle and leg and took off stump.
Next ball, and the whiplash action swirled one past Chris Lewis from outside the off-stump and took the bails with it as it passed him in motion blur.
But winning the World Cup and the Man-of-the-Match award in the final will always be offset against his name after he presided over Pakistan's humiliating loss in the 1999 final.
Wasim, already carrying the stigma of being at the centre of match-fixing which he has denied throughout and for which there has never been concrete proof, bore the brunt of the nation's anger and never really regained the full love of his countrymen despite his best efforts for the team in subsequent years.
Like Shane Warne, Ian Botham and Azharuddin, for different reasons, he is retiring with many distractions from his true worth to the game. *He was the bowler who made the 22 yards a catwalk on which he would put out, season after season, the endless streams of his art and skill. From silky inswingers to the lethal neckwear, he was the king of designer fast bowling for much of the 1990s. *
But he was sensational as a batsman too. His domineering frame and broad shoulders created parabola's that were steeper than flatter. Except when he launched into the faster bowlers. Few can forget that he hit 257 at No.8 in a career spanning 104 Tests or the cameos that he played in One-Day Internationals to such perfection and almost on cue.
Those who have seen Alan Davidson and Gary Sobers, two of the most lethal left arm bowlers in history are said by some to have had not the genius of Wasim. He was handed the secret of reverse swing by Imran who had himself learnt it from Sarfraz. It was a time when the science behind it was science fiction to the world.
*Only Geoff Boycott appreciated his true worth at the time as, in the summer of '92, he partnered Waqar in England's worst devastation since West Indies' 1984 whitewash. "Forget ball tampering", said Boycs. "Wasim and Waqar would have bowled out England with an orange." In his prime he would have rivalled Archimedes' claim with a minor adjustment: "Give me a place to stand and I'll swing the world." *
*He has made the ball not just talk, but to write its own speech. He has made batsmen seriously think of 'toe gear' when all they used to have on their mind was helmets. *
Announcing his retirement so suddenly may just be intended as shock therapy aimed at the PCB and the nation in general. There is every likelihood that there will be a wave of sympathy for him and cries that he be allowed to fulfil his ambition of going out on a high. That can be on a match-winning note on his home ground against India.
He will be 37 on June 3 and men like Steve Waugh are still talking about a future. To be fair to Wasim, he is now a patient of diabetes. Stress, physical exertion and skin injury in such a situation is a killer. He may well have made the best decision of his life, at least for now.
Excellent articles :k:
Really Excellent sambrialian (Y)
Wasim Bhai Rocks !!
Great Articles:k:…
**PCB plan grand on-field farewell for Wasim Akram
Former skipper will be asked to figure in a one-dayer
against Bangladesh or SA for a memorable send-off
By our correspondent
KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wants Wasim Akram to come out of retirement to play against Bangladesh or South Africa in the home series later this year so that it can give him a befitting farewell on his retirement.
A top PCB official disclosed here on Sunday that the Board was planning a grand, befitting farewell for Wasim later this year but for this purpose it wanted him to play either against Bangladesh or South Africa later in the year in atleast one match.
Wasim Akram, 36, announced his retirement from international cricket last month from England where he is playing for English county Hampshire after being dropped from the team after the World Cup.
He finished his international career with 414 Test and 503 One-day International wickets, the highest in both forms of the game by a Pakistani bowler but was dropped from the Pakistan squad for two One-day tournaments after the World Cup disappointment.
PCB chief Lt. General Tauqir Zia said here that he would like Wasim to play against Bangladesh or South Africa. “We will request him when he returns to Pakistan. As far as his retirement is concerned he has not informed us about it in writing or officially.”
He conceded that Wasim had come to meet him few days before he announced his retirement. “He told me what he planned to do but he didn’t make it clear he was going to retire and when for certain.”
“As far as the Board is concerned he is not officially retired until he informs us in writing.”
“But when he comes home we will discuss the farewell we want to give him as there is no doubting his greatness as a bowler and his contribution to Pakistan cricket. We want him to go out gracefully and in a memorable manner.”
Tauqir stated that there was a definite role for Wasim to play in the future of Pakistan cricket."
“When we have him and Waqar Younis, two of the greatest fast bowlers produced in the world. Why should we look to others to train our youngsters. I don’t think they could be a better pair to groom our young fast bowlers and in coaching.”
“I don’t want to go into the details. But the Pakistan board will make his farewell a memorable one.”
He also made it clear that the Board had not hounded Wasim out of the game by not considering him for selection. “Retirement was his decision not ours.”
On the issue of Wasim’s appeal against the match-fixing sanctions imposed on him not being heard and delayed by the Board, Tauqir said the hearing could not be held because he is not in the country.
“We have appointed a retired Judge of the Lahore high court to hear his appeal and this will be done as soon as he returns from England. Infact the Board would be willing to provide him with every assistance and support as we would like to see his name cleared.”
He pointed out that when the ban on playing domestic cricket had also been lifted off former Indian captain Ajay Jadeja, the PCB would also look into the cases and appeals of Salim Malik and Wasim. “We would like our players also be cleared properly by the court of match-fixing charges.”
He said it was true the International cricket council (ICC) had asked the PCB to put on hold a hearing on Wasim’s appeal earlier this year. “But that was in the World Cup as they said they wanted to go back to England and check their records. That is all. But we don’t want this hearing delayed anymore.”
**
Wasim we love you 
The great man deserves it. Hats off to PCB for arranging such a send off. I hope it is against SA. :k:
Akram lined up for final international hurrah
Wisden Cricinfo staff - June 2, 2003
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to include Wasim Akram in their one-day side to face South Africa later this year as a formal farewell to his remarkable international career – despite Wasim announcing his retirement last month.
“He [Wasim] had given nothing to us [the PCB] in writing and we want to give him grand send-off from international cricket,” explained Lt Gen Tauqir Zia, chief executive of the PCB. Zia said the plan is for Wasim to be included in either the match at Lahore or Karachi: “It would be great to bid him farewell in front of his home crowd,”
And Zia added that they wanted to utilise Wasim’s experience. “We want him to train Pakistani youngsters,” he told reporters. “It would not be in our interest that he coach and train in England.”
i did not get it from my sources in PCB so believe it. i think its wonderful on the behalf of PCB to do that for wasim. he has been a great servent to pakistan cricket and despite all the controversies surrounding him, he has been a great representitive of pakistan. well done PCB :jhanda:
And what happens if Pakistan loses that match?..or Waseem fails to take any wickets..or gets bowled out for zero?..or even get a two match ban for ball tempering? (
)
kind of an anti climax..dont you think?
It doesnt matter whether Pakistan wins or loses or Wasim fails to take a wicket. It will be his farewell match and a tribute to him and a thanks from the nation to his great services to Pakistan. What will matter will be the fact that the nation will be saying thank you to a great star in a befitting manner.
i would want to see how he is going to react if he gets out for zero, i know how would react in normal situation, thanks to the stump microphones. 
Ban for ball tampering, thats a good one. hahah