We’ve sourced some of the most interesting and thought-provoking Wasim Akram Quotes. Each of the following quotes is overflowing with creativity, and knowledge.
You know, in pressure games everyone tests your skills on and off the field.
I have always enjoyed taking on challenges.
People think you get tired quickly when you are a diabetic. But I have taken about 190 wickets in One Day International matches after I was diagnosed for diabetes, and lots even in Test cricket, and never got tired.
When you become the coach, you need to give at least 200 to 250 days a year to the team and that’s a lot of work.
Green wickets. That is why everybody wants to be a fast bowler instead of being a spinner or a batsman.
Chris Gayle is the biggest hitter. He hits long, he hits big, he is a big dude.
At 15, I was a tape-ball ‘professional’ and would take ten rupees per game to win matches for different teams.
When I am in training I eat less carbs; when I’m not, I eat anything.
I believe my actual job is that of a mentor. I don’t just talk about bowling. I discuss batting, I discuss fielding, I discuss team selection, talking to every boy individually on and off the field, giving them confidence and if they are struggling with their cricket, talking to them about their cricket.
You have to assume as a bowler that the batsman is going to hit every ball that he will face. That’s where as a bowler you have to fancy your chances. If he is going to hit you, you can dismiss him. That is the confidence I give to my bowlers.
I think what pace bowlers need to do in T20 cricket is not just run up and bowl fast. It’s not about brute pace in T20, it’s about the variation.
Of course team spirit and team’s strategy matters more than anything else as far as the team is concerned. As far as I am concerned, if the presence of one player is affecting the morale or the spirit of the team, then we might as well rest that player for a while.
I think it is time Pakistan has a cricket academy. In fact, they are thinking of having one; the sooner they have one the better it will be for Pakistan cricket.
I have toured Bangladesh plenty of times and the pitches were unbelievable.
When I started bowling with a cricket ball, I was quite nippy, because I was already used to exerting more energy with the tape ball. So by the time I made the switch, I had already strengthened my shoulders.
Of course team spirit and team’s strategy matters more than anything else as far as the team is concerned. As far as I am concerned, if the presence of one player is affecting the morale or the spirit of the team, then we might as well rest that player for a while.
I have toured Bangladesh plenty of times and the pitches were unbelievable.
Coaching is a very different skill. You need patience, you need a lot of organisation. I don’t have any.
As a bowler you need to keep an eye on what the batsman is trying to do till the last moment.
From the bowler’s point of view, if I look at a batsman, I don’t see his shots, I see his defence. If a player has a strong defence, he is a very good player.
I was over the moon after bowling Chris Lewis and I was a little nervous about the hat-trick. You know it is a dream come true for any player to perform in the finals of a world cup.
I was over the moon after bowling Chris Lewis and I was a little nervous about the hat-trick. You know it is a dream come true for any player to perform in the finals of a world cup.
From the bowler’s point of view, if I look at a batsman, I don’t see his shots, I see his defence. If a player has a strong defence, he is a very good player.
I learnt the slower ball in the post-1992 period after I saw Franklin Stevenson of the West Indies in the county circuit. I would practice in the nets, hit people on the head, have the ball fly over the nets. I got it right after a lot of practice.
Test cricket is not easy. If you haven’t played first-class cricket for five years, then your muscles aren’t used to bowling for that long.
As long as I have been playing internationally as a cricketer, no-one has ever come up to me, nor mentioned anything to me, nor offered me anything when it comes as regards these open flowing but stupid allegations of fixing matches etc.
If you win one or two matches at home on good wickets, on grassy wickets, you’ll develop confidence automatically.
In Pakistan, if you have to become a cricketer you have to be a politician first.
I learnt the slower ball in the post-1992 period after I saw Franklin Stevenson of the West Indies in the county circuit. I would practice in the nets, hit people on the head, have the ball fly over the nets. I got it right after a lot of practice.
As a bowler, I was not scared of any batsman. They are not supposed to scare you; you have to scare them.
In Pakistan, if you have to become a cricketer you have to be a politician first.
At times when you do think or imagine if I was young and playing against Virat Kohli where would I bowl and I do feel it would be a bit difficult to bowl at him. It doesn’t matter what sort of pitch it is because he is a complete player.
I have always enjoyed taking on challenges.
Green wickets. That is why everybody wants to be a fast bowler instead of being a spinner or a batsman.
When you become the coach, you need to give at least 200 to 250 days a year to the team and that’s a lot of work. I don’t think I can manage so much work away from Pakistan, from my family.
I was inspired by the great West Indian fast bowler Joel Garner’s action. I gained confidence knowing I was emulating his action and eventually perfected the Yorker.
I think what pace bowlers need to do in T20 cricket is not just run up and bowl fast. It’s not about brute pace in T20, it’s about the variation.
I can make a good consultant, I can fine-tune bowlers, give them mental toughness, talk about how to bowl under pressure, how to bowl with the old ball.
You have to be prepared to go along the way life takes you.
Chris Gayle is the biggest hitter. He hits long, he hits big, he is a big dude.
As long as I have been playing internationally as a cricketer, no-one has ever come up to me, nor mentioned anything to me, nor offered me anything when it comes as regards these open flowing but stupid allegations of fixing matches etc.
I can make a good consultant, I can fine-tune bowlers, give them mental toughness, talk about how to bowl under pressure, how to bowl with the old ball.
As a bowler our job is to create doubts in the minds of the batsmen.
It’s things that you find difficult as a bowler in matches that you have to practise more. Some people don’t, they just think line and length and forget about other things.
T20 is amazing, good entertainment; there’s plenty of money involved and I’m all in for the importance of money in a sport and the players.
When I am in training I eat less carbs; when I’m not, I eat anything.
It doesn’t matter which era you play in. Wickets are the only way you can contain. Restricting the batsmen to six runs in the first over may look okay but in the next over they will hammer the other bowler. Giving ten runs and taking a wicket – I’ll take that any day.
Obviously fitness matters and at a certain age batsmen get the knack, batsmen get an idea how to get runs and I think he got the idea about 2-3 years ago how to get runs, what sort of shots to play and reading the situation.
You know, in pressure games everyone tests your skills on and off the field.
I would have enjoyed Twenty20. A couple of things: it would have suited my batting style, and of course, it would have suited my bowling too. Because you need a lot of varieties in Twenty20.
Very simple; we cricketers feel more comfortable with foreign coaches. We feel they don’t have any personal agendas against us and will be neutral. We feel we can trust them. That’s what I felt as a cricketer.
Australia has always been a very competitive team and I always enjoy playing and performing against them.
When I had a senior bowler guiding me as a young bowler, I had Imran bhai and I would ask him before every ball. It gives you that added confidence when a senior bowler tells you to do something.
You have to assume as a bowler that the batsman is going to hit every ball that he will face. That’s where as a bowler you have to fancy your chances. If he is going to hit you, you can dismiss him. That is the confidence I give to my bowlers.
Coach isn’t the one playing. The players do that. The coach can only help with planning so if the team loses, I don’t think the coach is not as accountable as we hold him as a nation.
I am not a fool. I keep on hearing and seeing the way people misbehave with their coaches and seniors.
It’s things that you find difficult as a bowler in matches that you have to practise more. Some people don’t, they just think line and length and forget about other things.
When you become the coach, you need to give at least 200 to 250 days a year to the team and that’s a lot of work. I don’t think I can manage so much work away from Pakistan, from my family.
Obviously fitness matters and at a certain age batsmen get the knack, batsmen get an idea how to get runs and I think he got the idea about 2-3 years ago how to get runs, what sort of shots to play and reading the situation.
Australia has always been a very competitive team and I always enjoy playing and performing against them.
