15 Interesting facts about Waqar Younis - The Reverse Swing King

The batsmen who have faced the supremely talented Waqar Younis still have nightmares of the ball swinging into them as they try to put bat on the incoming ball in vain which comes like a rocket and takes the stumps along with it.

Widely credited for being the man who introduced reverse swinging deliveries, the balls that move laterally the other way and continues to be a rare art practiced and mastered by a handful. Waqar was one-half of one of the most lethal and successful bowling pair’s in world cricket along with Wasim Akram.

1. Childhood:

Waqar Younis Maitla was born in Vehari, Punjab on 16th November 1971 in a Punjabi Jatt family of Pakistan. He was educated in Sadiq Public School in Bahawalpur in Pakistan, the Pakistani College in Sharjah and the Government College in Vehari. He was raised in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, where his father was a contract worker.

2. Initial struggle:

After completing his education, he came to Pakistan and started his cricketing career by playing for several first class cricket clubs. After playing only six first class games, he came into the notice of the then Pakistan captain Imran Khan who picked him for the next home series against India.

3. County stint:

He was recognised as a fine fast bowler in the county circuits when he played for Surrey.  By taking 113 wickets in 582 overs for Surrey in 1991, he announced himself as one of the finest contemporary bowlers. Later in 1997, he went on to win the English County Championship with Glamorgan.

4. Special debut:

Waqar made his International cricket debut for Pakistan against India on 16 November 1989, in the same match that Sachin Tendulkar made his debut. Waqar took 4 wickets in the drawn match including the wickets of Tendulkar and Kapil Dev.

5. Nick names:

For his express pace and wonderful performance against the Indians in just the first match, he was known as ‘Wiki’ and ‘Burewwala Express’. He was also known as ‘The Toe Crusher’.

6. Dream start to international cricket:

He played in a Pakistani team consisting of Wasim Akram and Imran Khan as his fast bowling colleagues. He and Akram formed a devastating bowling attack. His ability of bowling late inswinging yorkers consistently meant that he was always amongst the wickets and had the best strike-rate (43.4) among bowlers with more than 200 Test wickets – a record that was later broken by Dale Steyn.

7. Injury prone:

Sadly, Waqar Younis was a injury prone cricketer and had to miss out from the Pakistan squad of World Cup 1992 which his team won. The back injury was something which kept him out of the sides during his prime.

8. Conflict and controversies:

Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis had their battles of their own during the glorious times of Pakistani cricket. During the early periods of 2000, he stayed out of the Pakistan team for a brief period allegedly due to suspension and conflicts with captain Akram. Later he was made the captain of the team but there also he was banned for his allegations regarding ball tampering.

9. Not a great captain:

He captained Pakistan in 17 Tests and 62 ODIs. He led the Pakistan side in the disastrous World Cup of 2003. The Pakistanis crashed out of the group stage after winning only two matches, and that too against Netherlands and Namibia. After the World Cup, he conceded the captaincy and was dropped from the squad.

10. Disappointing farewell:

Waqar had an unpleasant end to his playing career after Pakistan had a catastrophic 2003 World Cup under his leadership. When he was dropped from the team, after a nearly 15-year career, Waqar announced his retirement from cricket altogether in April 2004.

11. Start of the second innings:

After retirement, he took up coaching positions. He was made the bowling coach of Pakistan in 2006 but soon resigned. Later, in 2009, he was reappointed as the bowling coach and was made the head coach of the team when Pakistan played the World Cup 2011. He resigned again after the World Cup but was reappointed as the head coach of Pakistan in May 2014 and resigned after WT20 2016.

12. Commentary stint:

Younis has also worked as a television sports commentator for the Nine Network in Australia and for Ten Sports in the United Arab Emirates.

13. IPL connection:

In March 2013, he joined the Sunrisers Hyderabad team as their bowling coach.

14. Personal life:

Waqar is married to Dr. Faryal Waqar Younis, a Pakistani Australian. They have a son Azaan Waqar and daughters Mariam and Maira Waqar. They now live in Kellyville in Australia.

15. Records and recognitions:

Waqar was named among the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1992 for his sporting achievements. He is also the only bowler to have taken 5 wickets in an innings in 3 consecutive One Day International matches. In terms of deliveries bowled, he has taken the fastest 50, 300, 350 and 400 wickets in ODIs. He also holds the record for the best strike rate for any bowler with over 350 Test wickets.