Waqar Younis

Waqar Younis was born on November 16, 1971 as Waqar Younis Maitla is a Pakistani cricketer, a fast bowler, from Burewala, Punjab. He is arguably the greatest fast bowler produced by Pakistan. At his peak, he received international acclaim for his ability to reverse swing the ball. Waqar Younis bucked the 1980s trend of pitching fast and short by pitching fast and full.

In his youth, he was one of the fastest ever. Waqar’s surging run was a glorious sight – and an incredible strain on his body. His method of aiming for the stumps rather than the batsman earned him the best strike rate of any bowler with over 200 Test wickets. It could have been better back injuries cut short his prime, but determination has always resurrected him, although he was easily pushed over the line that divides aggression and intimidation. He looked to have been put out to pasture by the end of 2000, but before long he had been appointed captain for the 2001 tour to England. he announced his retirement in April 2004. As a batsman, lusty blows were his staple, but Waqar batted with the air of a man who thinks he could have done better. The next stage of his career began in March 2006 when he was appointed as Pakistan’s bowling coach, and he has also been a regular in the commentary box.

He debuted for Pakistan against India on 15 November,1989 . He made an immediate impression with his pace, and was promptly nicknamed in the media as the “Burewala Express”. Later, along with Wasim Akram, Younis opened bowling regularly for Pakistan. Waqar Younis is the only bowler to have taken 5 wicket hauls in 3 consecutive ODIs. He has taken 4+ wickets on 27 occasions in ODIs, also a record. In terms of balls bowled, he has taken the fastest 50, 300, 350 and 400 wickets in ODI matches and the fastest 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 wickets in Test matches.Although primarily a bowler, Waqar scored 1010 Test runs. As of September 2005, Younis was the only man to pass the thousand run mark without ever scoring a fifty

He maintained excellent bowling averages in both ODIs and tests. His average of 23.56 in tests and 23.84 in tests is considered highly respectable. Waqar is one of a long line of Pakistanis who have been effective at using the art of reverse swing. In partnership with Wasim Akram, Younis spearheaded the Pakistan bowling attack in the early to mid 90′s. Following their 1992 series versus England, the English media, were suspicious of the then ‘mysterious’ art of reverse swing. This led to cries of foul play and allegations of “ball-tampering” from some quarters. Waqar Younis’s bowling against South Africa in Sheikhupura, Pakistan, is remembered for his effective use of the short-pitched delivery.In March, 2006 he was appointed as the bowling coach for Pakistan. He resigned from this position on January 6, 2007 in order to protest against PCB’s decision to retain him only for the Test series against South Africa and not for the subsequent series of five ODIs.