The meeting with Khalid Mahmood was very fruitful. Khalid Mehmood was playing first-class cricket for Pakistan Customs these days and was also one of the organizers of the Talent Hunt Camp. He took Wasim Akram's hand. Twelve years later, when Wasim Akram became the captain of the Pakistan team, it was Khalid Mahmood who became the president of the Pakistan Cricket Board during his tenure as captain.
Khalid Mahmood invited him to play cricket for his club Ludhiana Gymkhana. The truth is that Wasim Akram started regular cricket from Ludhiana Gymkhana. Before that he didn't even know the alphabet of "real cricket". He is undoubtedly a lucky cricketer. Before that, there was hardly a cricketer in the world who, despite playing cricket at school and college level, was unfamiliar with the alphabet of cricket. But it was Wasim Akram on whom nature was kind.
This is about 1983. There was a thorny match between Ludhiana Gymkhana and Lahore Gymkhana. The Lahore Gymkhana included Jaghadri players like Wasim Hassan Raja and Intikhab Alam. Wasim Akram bowled aggressively and took four valuable wickets of Lahore Gymkhana to lead his team to victory. Intikhab Alam and Wasim Raja liked Wasim Akram's unique run-up and bowling action and did not like his game. Not only did he appreciate it but Intikhab Alam gave him this valuable advice.
"Wasim! Pakistan Cricket Board summer camp was organized next year, so you must participate in it because the cricket board is looking for youngsters like you."
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Wasim Akram kept this advice in mind and when the summer camp was set up in 1984, Wasim Akram also reached there. Agha Sadiq was in charge of the summer camp. He decided to train him as a bowler and rectify his shortcomings. Seemed. Wasim proved to be the best all-rounder of all the boys in the camp and Agha Sadiq found a famous cricketer in him so he decided to hand him over to a fast bowler like Khan Muhammad. Khan Muhammad put Waseem in two jars of a mill and grinded him and removed all his flaws.
One day, Agha Sadiq and Khan Mohammad reviewed Wasim Akram's remaining shortcomings and both came to the conclusion that his bowling action needed to be changed slightly. Khan Mohammad told Agha Sadiq:
"Wasim Akram has the potential to be a great all-rounder but I think he has to work hard right now. He still knows the reverse swing, not the yorker ... he's still empty. But nature has endowed him with an essence of bowling that is not found in ordinary bowlers. We have to fix this flaw. When he gets the ball. So he keeps his body straight on the wicket. By doing so, the ball swings correctly and he cannot detect the intentions of the batsman in time. Due to this action, Wasim is forced to make a short pitch ball.
"What do you think he should do?" Agha Sadiq asked.
Coincidentally, Wasim Akram, who was practicing the net, also reached out to his two benefactors.
"Agha Sahib! Wasim does not raise his hand while bowling and does not slant on the wicket. So his hand does not come back. That's the decent thing to do, and it should end there. "
Khan Mohammad told Wasim Akram about the usefulness of raising his hand and while making his own bowling action, he said, "Look, Mian should raise his hand like this." Khan Mohammad grabbed the ball in his fingers and palms and raised his hand above his shoulder He threw the ball in the ground. "By doing this, the ball gets the right bonus and tilting the body while bowling causes the ball to swing out." Then Khan Mohammad told Wasim Akram about the hot and cold weather and the dry and humid weather. Wasim Akram taught swing bowling on the pitches and for almost a year, Wasim Akram benefited from the professionalism of Johari Khan Muhammad, a Pakistani cricketer.
Wasim Akram was only 17 years old. His wrists were getting wet and his body did not have the necessary muscles that are necessary for a fast bowler and all-rounder. He used to do hair in one action for three hours under the supervision of Khan Mohammad. ۔ Meanwhile, Khan Muhammad also fixed the line length of Wasim Akram.
Hero from zero
The strange thing with Wasim Akram was that his parents were still unaware of his madness. But one day his father Muhammad Akram, who was in the spare parts business, was told by someone that Wasim Akram was in the newspaper. It has been reported that he practices in Khan Mohammad's camp. So Mohammad Akram started a commotion as soon as he came home and said angrily to his wife:
"Have you guys considered me blind? Didn't I know that Wasim has dropped out of school and started playing cricket?"
Wasim's mother already knew this but she also thought that Wasim Akram was playing only for his hobby, he did not want to play cricket permanently.
Said to save his foot:
"I don't know that he is playing cricket day and night now. I am going to my mother now."
"Mother! You have disgraced me." Wasim's father has told me a lot. He was already not in favor of Wasim staying away from him but I sent him here because of your loneliness so that your heart will be touched and he Avoid long trips to and from school. But I have heard that he only plays cricket instead of studying. His father is very angry. Now you tell me what to do.
Wasim's grandmother lovingly said to her daughter, "Didi! Now what was supposed to happen has happened. Wasim has had a difficult time and I am sure he will join the Pakistani team very soon, so be patient as you are now and Pray for it. ”Nani Aman told her daughter.“ In the beginning, I was also disgusted with this game but for the sake of her hobby, she kept her cricket hidden from you people. But Didi, encourage her now. The destination is now two steps away.
Ongoing, click here to read the next episode.
Left-arm bowler Raseem Akram, who has caused a stir in the world of cricket, said goodbye to him by playing historic cricket, but maintained his commitment to the cricket field, saying that today he is a fan of TV screens and mics. Wasim Akram is a street fighter. When I started playing cricket from a street in Lahore, it was a time of poverty for him. He proved his mettle in cricket with the power of his passion and left his past far away. He earned both honor and notoriety in cricket. But the star of his brilliance in the world of cricket is still shining. Pakistan Daily is presenting the untold story of the early and hard life of this tragic cricketer here.
Written by Shahid Nazeer Chaudhry
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