Dubai: Imad Wasim, who made history by becoming the first Pakistan spinner to take a five-wicket spell in T20Is, always dreamt of being a destructive fast bowler like Wasim Akram.
Unfortunately, he discovered that he did not have the required pace to emulate his idol.
Given his passion for cricket, he opted to switch to spin, a decision which is paying rich dividends for the 27-year-old.
Wasim’s skills and ability as a spinner were very much in evidence during his team’s nine-wicket rout of the West Indies in the first Twenty20 match of the series in Dubai on Friday.
Born in Swansea, Wales, to Pakistani parents, Wasim played league cricket in England and Ireland. His chance to don a Pakistan national team cap came when the squad were looking for a spinner to replace the banned Saeed Ajmal.
No sooner did that happen, he began planning for the future.
“I have my aims and goals, I want to be a person who can be a matchwinner,” he says. “I worked really hard when I was young while playing domestic cricket. All I wanted was just to perform for my team.”
Wasim is a tireless worker and does not shy away from bowling for long hours at the nets.
“I am a very ambitious cricketer and an ambitious human being,” he says. “I just love playing for Pakistan.”
Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmad knows Wasim’s temperament and revealed why he used him as the opening bowler.
“We wanted to use an attacking bowler,” he said. “Imad has been in great form in the Caribbean Premier League so we decided to introduce him early.
“I also realised that it was a spining track and Imad’s deliveries come in very well. The ball was also skidding and turning, hence Imad was the right person to bowl.”
Wasim is also a good student of the game and enjoys learning from all the coaches that he comes across.
“I had worked with our present coach Mickey Arthur while playing in the Pakistan Super League [PSL] for Karachi Kings,” he says. “He is a brilliant coach. He’s really one of the best coaches and he has given me a lot of confidence.
“Waqar [Younis] bhai [brother] also helped me a lot. I think it’s up to a player as well to improve and produce his best. It is the players who are inside the ground, we are there to try and implement what the coach has told us and to execute the plans. Coaches always supports us in our good and bad days.”
Wasim wants his team to shake off the notion that they are not consistent performers.
“We want to be consistent and get rid of the label that we are inconsistent,” he said.
A few more deadly spells like his performance in the first T20 may well ensure Pakistan become a consistent threat in the Twenty20 format too.
