Waqar Younis believed in pitching the ball fast and full. His late inswing delivery was bowled in a manner that would smash in the base of the leg stump or the batsman’s toes. During his run up there was a tremendous strain on Waqar’s body. He was one of the fastest bowlers in his youth.
While bowling, Waqar aimed at the stumps rather than the batsman. Due to this approach, he has earned the best strike rate amongst bowlers who have claimed more than 200 Test wickets. He could have enhanced these figures, but when he was in his prime, he was affected by back injuries. However, he was very determined to be back in the squad. For the 2001 tour of England, he was selected as the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. During the 2003 Cricket World Cup, Pakistan could defeat only Namibia and Holland and hence, Waqar had an unceremonious exit. In April 2004, he declared he was retiring from the international scene.
Career Highlights
Waqar Younis participated in 262 ODIs and in these gave away 9919 runs in 12698 deliveries and bagged 416 wickets. His bowling strike rate was 30.5, economy rate was 4.68 and bowling average was 23.84. He managed to score 969 runs at a batting strike rate of 67.05. He clobbered 21 sixers and 58 boundaries. As a fielder, he took 35 catches.
