Sir Viv Richards: “Wasim Akram is the greatest left-arm bowler to play cricket. I faced the fastest bouncer in my career from Wasim Akram”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary West Indies batsman Sir Viv Richards said he faced the “fastest bouncer in my career” from iconic Pakistan left-arm seamer Wasim Akram.
Wasim is widely regarded as the best fast bowler Pakistan has ever produced as he could swing the ball both ways and unleash lethal yorkers and bouncers.
Known as the Sultan of Swing, he represented his country in 104 Tests and took 414 wickets at an average of 23.62.
The 59-year-old from Lahore is also the second-highest wicket-taker in ODI history as he picked up 502 wickets in 356 matches at an average of 23.52.
“Wasim Akram is the greatest left-arm bowler to play cricket. I faced the fastest bouncer in my career from Wasim Akram,” Richards was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Pakistan team haven’t been in great form recently as they were eliminated in the group stage of the 2025 Champions Trophy after going winless throughout the tournament.
They then embarked on a limited overs tour of New Zealand and were beaten 4-1 in the T20I series before being crushed 3-0 in the ODIs.
Following this, many of the national players featured in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), which the Lahore Qalandars won.
After PSL 10 concluded, Pakistan faced Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series and turned their fortunes around with a 3-0 win.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub