Wasim Akram
In the traditional President XI (or Patrons XI) match at Rawalpindi, Javed Miandad was going to lead the team...
However Zaheer Abbas was captain of the national team at that time, since Imran Khan was injured and recovering in Australia to play for New South Wales to check if he is fit to play International Cricket again...
I still remember in Pakistan, a newspaper putting a picture of Imran Khan living in the apartment of his best friend Australian Journalist Ms. Emma Sergeant...
Now for that Pindi match based on superlative performance in Domestic Cricket, Waseem Haider of Faisalabad was selected to play...
Waseem Haider was tipped to play for Pakistan for years at that time: He used to bat in almost the same style as Ravi Shastri of India although more aggressive and was a medium pacer almost like Abdur Razzaq: He was in the team and played a few games during World Cup 1992, which Pakistan won...
Afterwards due to consistent injuries, he could not play for long...
Now before that match in Pindi, Waseem Haider also got injured...
Waseem Haider is a very close friend of Waseem Akram: So when he was going to Pindi, he had asked Waseem Akram to come with him and Akram did come...
Now when Haider was unable to bowl in the nets, he asked Miandad to utilize the services of his friend Akram for net practice, saying that in the previous season during summer, Akram had been at Fazal Mahmood and Khan Mohammad's Camps and that those bowlers of the past said he is good...
When Miandad agreed, Waseem Akram rushed to the market place to buy some decent clothes and shoes for the nets...
When he arrived, Miandad was in the nets and after the first few balls, Miandad said Akram is not only going to help him with the net practice, but in fact, he is going to play in the match itself in place of injured Waseem Haider...
Waseem Haider and Waseem Akram were both delighted: Miandad had Akram move into the players’ hotel...
On the first day of that Pindi game, Akram took 7/51 and in the second innings took another three wickets: I think this was Akram's second or third first class match...
However for the test matches, selectors and Zaheer Abbas did not select him despite Miandad asking them for his selection...
Zaheer Abbas did play him in the last one day match and in the last over, New Zealand needed 24 to win: Captain Jeremy Coney hit all the first five balls of the last over of the match and series being bowled by Waseem Akram for five fours: However he could not score off the last ball and Pakistan won in a nail biting fashion...
In that series, unfortunately Pakistani Umpiring was below standard and at times, it looked that Umpires were cheating in favor of Pakistan...
Kiwis Captain Jeremy Coney live on television said that Umpiring was too substandard and that they will take revenge when Pakistan will tour New Zealand and Australia a few months after this series...
Zaheer Abbas refused to be captain for that away series and Imran Khan said he will join the team in second half of the tour in Australia for the Benson & Hedges World Series One-Day Championship (Mini-World Cup)...
PCB appointed Miandad as Captain: The first thing Miandad asked was selection of Waseem Akram: Selectors refused: Miandad then threatened that he will not play if Akram is not selected: For days, Pakistan team was not announced: At last selectors accepted Miandad's point-of-view and team was announced with Akram going...
And in New Zealand in only his second test match, he took five wickets in both innings, although Pakistan lost by two wickets due to this time Kiwis Umpires cheating...
Imran Khan from Australia gave a delightful remark that he was not very inspired to make a return to Pakistan team, since he knew all the hard work will be required solely off him and with his fitness situation he may not able to do all the work, but since now Pakistan has found their own Alan Davidson (a past devastating left-handed Australian All-Rounder), Imran Khan's career will get extended...
In Benson & Hedges, Waseem Akram bamboozled Aussies with his fast paced bowling taking five wickets in one of the one-day games and had he played in the final against India at Melbourne, Pakistan may very well have won that Mini-World-Cup...
More about Akram sometime in the future...
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