Abdul
ODI Debutant
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2015
- Runs
- 9,212
Wasim Akram speaking on TV:
"When I started eighth grade, there used to be tennis ball tournaments in Lahore under the floodlights. I played in those tournaments and my passion for cricket only grew afterwards from there."
"A lot of people helped me throughout my career at various stages but I would like to mention Khalid Mahmood Sahib. He played a bit of First-class cricket for the customs. He watched me play with the tennis ball in one of the tournaments. He asked me "Why don't you play with a cricket ball?", to which I replied "Where will I play with a cricket ball? There are no grounds here." So, he started taking me to the nets for one whole month on his bicycle and afterwards going to the nets became my habit. As soon as I returned home from school, I used to go to the nets straight."
"I was lucky that my 4th First-class match was a Test match. During that era, it was very difficult for some to get into the team even after playing FC cricket for more than ten years. My coaches worked very hard on me. I started getting loads of wickets in club cricket. Then there was a match against Gymkhana in which Ramiz Raja, Javed Zaman, and Intikhab Alam, and some other Test cricketer played. I bowled very well in that game, and I picked up four wickets."
"Then there was a Summer Camp in Lahore and my name was on the list. For first four days, nobody gave me the ball and then I spoke to my coach in club cricket that I didn't want to go back as I have to stand there the whole day but at least here I can bowl. He told me to go and said you'll get the ball tomorrow (I suppose he did a sifarish for me), anyway I went and they gave me an old ball. I bowled well and everyone was impressed; the next day they gave me a new ball and that day the chief selector of the national team was also there, so he watched me bowl. Next day, I bought a newspaper after waking up and I saw my name and I can't describe my happiness afterwards. My family members were also very happy."
"My dad was a typical middle class dad; he used to work six days a week, so I only saw him on Sundays. My mom always used to worry about me (like every other mother) and always told me study. I occasionally got beatings from her also."
"I have been offered movies before, but I have rejected all of the offers. I know my strengths. Acting is a proper profession, and I have seen cricketers-turned-actors, and their acting is beyond terrible. I enjoy doing TV, but I don't have the talent to be in the movies."
"I didn't lose my sleep over bowling to any batsman. I think it was the opposite as some batsmen did lose their sleep over facing me. But Brian Lara was the toughest batsman to bowl to."
"In the seventies and eighties, it was next to impossible to win against the West Indies. The night before a match against them, I used to pray to god that the match is close; forget winning."
"Commentating is a very tough job, and I did have a lot of difficulties when I started doing it. People say you just have to speak on the television, and you are travelling the world for free, but that is not the case. In a live game, the margin of error is very low. You have to be there two hours before the game. You have to do the pre-game shows, and then you also have to do the shows during innings breaks and also the post-game shows."
"My message to our cricketers is that if you can't speak English, then don't speak it. It is not our language. Just learn to speak Urdu properly. I was watching Ronaldo's documentary last night, and throughout the whole documentary, he spoke his own language."
"I was playing a county match in England and then the PCB chairman called me and asked me to help him with his shopping. He bought three suits of the same colour and then I asked him "Why did you call me to help you with your shopping?"
"People say that Azhar Ali isn't a good captain. In cricket, there is no one born leader. There are born decision-makers. Cricket captaincy is a thing you learn by doing it on the field."
"Saqlain's nickname in the team was Bijli. But he won many matches for Pakistan, and he also changed the face of off spin bowling."
"Saeed Anwar was very talented, but he underachieved because he was a bit lazy. He could have ended up with 40 ODI hundreds instead of 20 if he was a bit more serious."
"When I started eighth grade, there used to be tennis ball tournaments in Lahore under the floodlights. I played in those tournaments and my passion for cricket only grew afterwards from there."
"A lot of people helped me throughout my career at various stages but I would like to mention Khalid Mahmood Sahib. He played a bit of First-class cricket for the customs. He watched me play with the tennis ball in one of the tournaments. He asked me "Why don't you play with a cricket ball?", to which I replied "Where will I play with a cricket ball? There are no grounds here." So, he started taking me to the nets for one whole month on his bicycle and afterwards going to the nets became my habit. As soon as I returned home from school, I used to go to the nets straight."
"I was lucky that my 4th First-class match was a Test match. During that era, it was very difficult for some to get into the team even after playing FC cricket for more than ten years. My coaches worked very hard on me. I started getting loads of wickets in club cricket. Then there was a match against Gymkhana in which Ramiz Raja, Javed Zaman, and Intikhab Alam, and some other Test cricketer played. I bowled very well in that game, and I picked up four wickets."
"Then there was a Summer Camp in Lahore and my name was on the list. For first four days, nobody gave me the ball and then I spoke to my coach in club cricket that I didn't want to go back as I have to stand there the whole day but at least here I can bowl. He told me to go and said you'll get the ball tomorrow (I suppose he did a sifarish for me), anyway I went and they gave me an old ball. I bowled well and everyone was impressed; the next day they gave me a new ball and that day the chief selector of the national team was also there, so he watched me bowl. Next day, I bought a newspaper after waking up and I saw my name and I can't describe my happiness afterwards. My family members were also very happy."
"My dad was a typical middle class dad; he used to work six days a week, so I only saw him on Sundays. My mom always used to worry about me (like every other mother) and always told me study. I occasionally got beatings from her also."
"I have been offered movies before, but I have rejected all of the offers. I know my strengths. Acting is a proper profession, and I have seen cricketers-turned-actors, and their acting is beyond terrible. I enjoy doing TV, but I don't have the talent to be in the movies."
"I didn't lose my sleep over bowling to any batsman. I think it was the opposite as some batsmen did lose their sleep over facing me. But Brian Lara was the toughest batsman to bowl to."
"In the seventies and eighties, it was next to impossible to win against the West Indies. The night before a match against them, I used to pray to god that the match is close; forget winning."
"Commentating is a very tough job, and I did have a lot of difficulties when I started doing it. People say you just have to speak on the television, and you are travelling the world for free, but that is not the case. In a live game, the margin of error is very low. You have to be there two hours before the game. You have to do the pre-game shows, and then you also have to do the shows during innings breaks and also the post-game shows."
"My message to our cricketers is that if you can't speak English, then don't speak it. It is not our language. Just learn to speak Urdu properly. I was watching Ronaldo's documentary last night, and throughout the whole documentary, he spoke his own language."
"I was playing a county match in England and then the PCB chairman called me and asked me to help him with his shopping. He bought three suits of the same colour and then I asked him "Why did you call me to help you with your shopping?"
"People say that Azhar Ali isn't a good captain. In cricket, there is no one born leader. There are born decision-makers. Cricket captaincy is a thing you learn by doing it on the field."
"Saqlain's nickname in the team was Bijli. But he won many matches for Pakistan, and he also changed the face of off spin bowling."
"Saeed Anwar was very talented, but he underachieved because he was a bit lazy. He could have ended up with 40 ODI hundreds instead of 20 if he was a bit more serious."
This was quite random. I wonder which chairman.
was still a class act and could have played on for a few more years at least. 
