Salman Butt: “Wasim bhai played his last World Cup in 2003 in South Africa and was still bowling at speeds of 137-138 kph at the age of 40, something today’s bowlers struggle with”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt expressed his amazement at the fact that iconic Pakistan left-arm seamer Wasim Akram was still bowling close to 140 kph at the age of 40.
Salman noted that it is an incredibly difficult feat to achieve, especially looking at the bowling speeds of today’s bowlers, many of whom struggle to surpass the 140 kph mark.
Wasim, arguably the greatest fast bowler Pakistan has ever produced, featured in 104 Tests and took 414 wickets at an average of 23.62.
He is also the second-highest wicket-taker in ODI history with 502 wickets in 356 matches at an average of 23.52.
“Wasim bhai played his last World Cup in 2003 in South Africa and was still bowling at speeds of 137-138 kph at the age of 40, something today’s bowlers struggle with. Waqar (Younis) was no different in terms of his enduring brilliance,” Salman was quoted as saying by A Sports.
The Pakistan team recently toured Australia and began by winning the ODI series 2-1 before being battered 3-0 in the T20Is.
The men in green then travelled to Zimbabwe and came away with a 2-1 win in both the ODI and T20I series.
Pakistan just concluded a tour of South Africa, where they lost the T20I series 2-0 before rebounding to secure a 3-0 victory in the ODIs.
As for the two-Test series, the men in green were beaten 2-0.
Next up for Pakistan will be a two-Test series against the West Indies, which will be held in Karachi and Multan from January 16 to 28.
Pakistan Squad for South Africa T20I Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha
[TS_Poll id=”3″]