Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram is considered one of the finest bowlers in the world. He has taken plenty of wickets across all formats, holder of a World Cup title, and has many other records. He had a career that every cricketer dreams of and is regarded by many as one of the best bowlers in the history of the game.
However, there was a forgettable part in their career, where he was accused of match-fixing. Akram has 502 wickets in ODIs and 414 wickets in Tests. And along with his batting prowess, he was also a handy batter down the order and also has a double hundred to his name in Test cricket.
In a recent interview, Akram opened up about allegations and how people in Pakistan have still not forgotten what had unravelled in 1996. While speaking to Wide World of Sports on the launch of his autobiography ‘Sultan Wasim Akram’, the legendary fast bowler slammed out at the present generation of Pakistan fans for calling him a “match-fixer” on social media websites without even understanding what had happened. He also compared the Pakistan fans to those in India, Australia, England and West Indies.
Was Wasim Akram involved in match-fixing or not?
“In Australia, England, West Indies and India, when they talk about the World XI, when they talk about the best bowler in the world, my name pops up. But in Pakistan, this generation, this social media generation, they are the one who come down, every comment they send, they say, ‘oh, he is a match fixer’, not knowing what it was. I have passed that stage in my life where I have to worry about people,” asserted Akram.
These allegations are from the 1990s when fast bowler Ata-ur-Rehman had accused Akram of offering him money to fix a game. Other rumours had included faking an injury and missing the 1996 World Cup quarterfinal match against India. But later, these allegations were proven wrong and Rehman was banned for life.
