NAME: Wasim Akram

AGE: 36

NATIONALITY: Pakistani

CLAIM TO FAME: The left-arm wonder from Pakistan cricket

SUCH has been his dominance of the cricketing world and such has been his resilient, never-say-die spirit that many are still wondering if Wasim Akram has really called it a day. After all, he has returned from the brink several times, only to prove himself even stronger than ever before.

His retirement from all international cricket — if that is final, as he has claimed — will certainly leave a vacuum that won’t be filled in a hurry. There just isn’t any bowler in the world who can step into the shoes as the rightful heir of this left-arm wonder.

All through his 19-year career, Wasim Akram dominated the field like few others have done in the history of the game. In terms of wickets taken, he is by far the most successful One-Day bowler of all time, having taken 502 wickets in 356 ODIs, averaging 23.52. In the Test arena, he is the most successful Pakistani bowler, with 414 wickets in 104 Tests, averaging 23.62. Other than the wickets, he also proved to be a successful run-getter, with a personal best of 257. At the end of it all, he captained Pakistan to 66 One-Day wins and 12 Test victories.

Being the most successful exponent of left-arm swing bowling also helped Wasim become the most successful World Cup bowler. Since the 1987 campaign, he took more than 50 wickets, which is a yet another record against his name.

In the cricketing world, Wasim was truly a magician. His swinging yorkers were delivered with the same ferocity as those of his much junior compatriots, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar. The most amazing difference, however, is that Wasim delivered the ball, and still can, with a much-shortened run-up, something that has never ceased to amaze cricketing fans and experts alike. His natural ability to play tricks with the ball had many suggesting that he was tampering with the red cherry, which, of course, was not the case.

However, his career hasn’t been trouble free. The match-fixing controversy certainly tainted his name. In fact, it could well have brought his career to a premature end, and there are still many who would like to believe that he had a narrow escape. His other professional troubles have included marijuana-smoking charges in the West Indies, revolt against his captaincy and constant squabbles with team-mates.

Eventually, his end came in much less glamorous circumstances than he would have wanted. After Pakistan’s bitter exit from the recent World Cup, Wasim was one of the eight senior players who were sidelined for the Sharjah Cup and the tri-nation series in Sri Lanka. Former cricketing greats are now labelling this unceremonious exit as the reason of his retirement.