Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram is regarded as one of the best pacer bowlers in history. Akram had a career unlike any other, with a slew of wickets across formats, a World Cup title, and a plethora of records. As a result, he could easily make any best XI team of all time even today.
However, there was a forgettable period in his career when he was accused of match-fixing. In a recent interview, Akram opened up about the allegations and how Pakistanis have yet to forget what happened in the 1990s.
They say, “oh, he is a match-fixer”: Wasim Akram
Speaking to Wide World of Sports on the occasion of the release of his autobiography, ‘Sultan Wasim Akram,’ the legendary fast bowler lashed out at the current generation of Pakistan fans for labelling him a “match-fixer” on social-media websites without even knowing what had happened. He compared Pakistani fans’ reactions to those in India, Australia, England, and the West Indies.
“In Australia, England, West Indies and India, when they talk about the World XI, when they talk about the best bowler in the world, my name pops up but in Pakistan, this generation, this social media generation, they are the one who come down, every comment they send, they say, ‘oh, he is a match fixer’, not knowing what it was,” said Akram.
“I have passed that stage in my life where I have to worry about people,” he stated further.
These allegations date back to the 1990s when fast bowler Ata-ur-Rehman accused Akram of attempting to fix a game. Other rumours had him faking an injury and skipping India’s World Cup quarterfinal match in 1996. However, these allegations were later proven false, and Rehman was sentenced to life in prison.
In the meantime, Akram represented Pakistan in 104 Test matches, taking 414 scalps. He also donned the green jersey in 356 ODI matches, taking over 500 wickets in his career that spanned 19 years.
