KARACHI, April 7: Waqar Younis, the former Pakistan captain and one of the finest fast bowlers of all time, has decided to retire from all forms of cricket. A formal announcement is expected to be made within the next few days.

According to Ramiz Raja, the Pakistan Cricket Board chief executive, Waqar made a request to the cricket board on Wednesday to organise 'something' for him at the end of the second Test against India. Dawn has learnt from reliable sources that the PCB is considering appointing Waqar as the Pakistan bowling coach shortly after widespread calls from leading figures including Imran Khan.

Waqar, who turned 32 last November, was sacked as captain and sidelined from the team after Pakistan failed to qualify for the Super Six (second stage) of the 2003 World Cup in southern Africa.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) offered Waqar, who was one of fastest bowlers at his peak, a farewell appearance when the South Africans toured the country. But he turned down the invitation while stating he wanted to make a comeback to international cricket.

He played in a couple of Patron's Trophy matches as a guest player for Allied Bank earlier this season without attaining the form and fitness to put himself back in national reckoning.

Waqar made his debut in the same Test as Sachin Tendulkar, who was just a 16-year-old at the time, at Karachi in November 1989, clean bowling the Indian for 15. In a glittering 87-Test career, Waqar bagged 373 wickets (averaging 23.56), second only to his old fast bowling partner Wasim Akram's Pakistan record 414 Test wickets.

His strike rate of 43.4 balls per wicket is the best among Test bowlers with 200 or more wickets and is the fifth best in Test cricket history. Waqar claimed the second highest number of wickets in One-day Internationals with a haul of 416 (averaging 23.84) in 262 appearances, finishing behind Wasim Akram's world record of 502 wickets.

Waqar won nine of 16 Tests, while losing the remaining seven, as captain since being appointed to the job for the tour of England in 2001. He had also led Pakistan to victory in the absence of Wasim Akram - with whom Waqar formed one of the most lethal pace bowling combinations in the 1990s - against Zimbabwe in the only Test played at Karachi's Defence Stadium (now demolished) in December 1993.

Waqar captained Pakistan in 34 One-day Internationals, winning 25 and losing nine. In a 228-match first-class career from 1987-88 to 2003-04, Waqar captured 956 wickets at 22.33 with a best of eight for 17.