Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s frontline spinner in the Test format, was left in awe after watching an old video of Wasim Akram bowling in a One Day International (ODI) game against New Zealand.
Akram, also known as the ‘Sultan of Swing’, can be seen swinging the ball in the 44th over the match in the video shared by Ashwin.
“Hello, white ball!! Where are you these days?? That’s the 44th over and reverse swing at its best from the king @wasimakramlive,” Ashwin commented on the video.
Hello white ball 💭💭!! Where are you these days?? That’s the 44 th over and reverse swing at it’s best from the king @wasimakramlive 👏👏 https://t.co/PcgXEtOkwj
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) May 15, 2021
Akram’s most iconic spell came in the 1992 World Cup final against England. He scalped three big wickets and swung the match in favour of Pakistan.
The former Pakistan skipper is considered one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of the gentlemen’s game. Akram was known for his ability to swing the ball both ways and terrorize even the best batsmen during his playing days.
The left-arm pacer stands second in the list of all-time highest wicket-takers in ODIs.
Cricket, now known as the batsmen’s game, was once dominated by bowlers. Technology was still in its nascent stage, and knowing accurate bowling speed was still a concept no one heard of.
Over time, with changes in rules, the game started to shift its paradigm towards batsmen, and now it is batsmen having the upper hand.
International Cricket Council (ICC) announced in the year 2011 that two balls would be used in each innings of the 50-overs match. This new rule was much criticized as reverse swinging would become a tough task for bowlers. The ball that had to be used for 50 overs will only be used for 25 overs, therefore, decreasing the possibility of reverse swing, which generally happens with the older ball.
Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar and Waqar Younis had shared their views on using two new balls in each innings.
Reason why we don’t produce many attacking fast bowlers..They all very defensive in their approach…always looking for change ups..totally agree with you @sachin_rt reverse swing is almost vanished.. #SAD https://t.co/hPHoMXujcr
— Waqar Younis (@waqyounis99) June 21, 2018
