'It was a nightmare to face him' - Mahela Jayawardene names Wasim Akram as the best pacer he ever faced

Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has described Wasim Akram, the renowned Pakistani pacer, as the toughest fast bowler he ever faced in his career. Akram has a total of 916 international career wickets combined in the Test and ODI formats. He was one of the senior players of his national side when Jayawardene played for Sri Lanka.

The former Pakistan captain is largely considered as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. Wasim concluded his career with 414 Test wickets at an average of 23.62 in 104 matches, and 502 ODI wickets at an average of 23.52 in 356 matches. He was the leading wicket-taker in ODIs before Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan broke his record and took over the top spot.

Jayawardene’s comments came while speaking on ICC’s digital show- The ICC Review. Stating that Akram was the finest bowler he ever faced, he went on to say that no matter what time of the day it was, Akram always put his best foot forward.

“Hands down, Wasim Akram. I made my debut when it was his [Akram’s] peak or the backend of his career. It was a nightmare to face him as it was tough because he is challenging you with the new ball, doesn’t matter what format it is. He had a really quick-arm action and he had the ability to beat you any time of the day,” he said.

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Jayawardene praised Akram for his consistency to bowl in the same manner

The 45-year-old complimented Akram’s potential to let the cricket ball do wonders, adding that pitch conditions were unimportant when it came to Akram’s abilities, who could trouble any batter, not just him.

On the international stage, Jayawardene scored slightly under 26,000 runs combined in all three formats, yet he remained modest while complimenting Akram. The right-handed batter went on to say that one of the reasons Akram was so tough to play was his propensity to swing the ball both ways, regardless of whether it was a new ball or an old ball.

“He [Akram] would run in with the same intensity at the end of the second day’s play as he would at the first ball of the match,” he added.