These days some of the younger guys have no idea what some of the previous generation of cricketers had to go through to "make it" at international level.

10th October 2009 (by Saj Sadiq)

These days some of the younger guys have no idea what some of the previous generation of cricketers had to go through to "make it" at international level. Waqar certainly didnt have things easy and was not someone who had a "silver spoon in his mouth".

Whilst most of us know the story about Waqar being spotted by Imran Khan on tv whilst playing against Delhi at the Qaddaffi stadium, most of us dont know about the struggles that Waqar faced early in his cricketing career.

Waqar was regarded in the Multan district not as Right Arm Fast, but as Right arm all over the place. Meaning that he was fast, wayward and very expensive. None of the local keepers could stop his deliveries because he was so erratic and fast. On the local concrete wickets, his deliveries would usually fly over the keepers head for byes and he was regarded as a risk to have in your bowling lineup.

Waqar and the local express merchant Nadeem Iqbal would be the talk of the town as to who was the quickest, with Waqar idolising Nadeem. Whilst Nadeem and Waqar were close competitors when it came to speed, it was Nadeem who was clear leader when it came to taking wickets and accuracy in the Multan district cricket competitions.

Waqar was discarded by his local team in Burewala and was left in a position where he was only given a chance by the Vehari team. According to Zahid, Waqar wanting to seize that chance would cycle 25-30 km in the Multan heat to play for Vehari, before playing the match and then cycling the same distance back to his home straight after the match ended.

When people say Waqar was a natural athlete, now we know one of the reasons why he was such a fit cricketer. All that cycling in that intense heat paid off in the end didnt it?

Discuss!