PakPassion.Net: Who were your cricketing idols when growing up?

Mohammad Wasim: I was a ball boy at the Rawalpindi stadium aged around 14 or 15 and Salim Malik was batting. I watched his batting from the boundary edge and was mesmerised at just how wristy and elegant his batting was. He was amazing to watch and he scored a double century in that match. From that day Malik became my hero and someone whose batting I tried to model myself on.


PakPassion.Net: Do you think that Salman Butt is one half of the solution to our opening problems for the long term? 

Mohammad Wasim: Salman is a player who has had a lot of chances now and by now he should have established himself at both forms of the game. He is one of the better openers in Pakistan but I think could and should have done a lot better in his career so far. I dont think he has justified his immense talent. I would retain him for the test team but not select him for the one day side.


PakPassion.Net: You were the skipper of the very talented "A" side that toured England, we have heard stories that even then Shoaib Akhtar had some disciplinary problems - is this true or fabrication by the press?

Mohammad Wasim: I have never had any issues or problems with Shoaib and we have played a lot of cricket together over the years for KRL and other teams too. He has always been very responsive to me and we have always enjoyed a very good relationship together. There were no problems with Shoaib on that tour of England.


PakPassion.Net: What about the issues that Shoaib and Inzamam had with each other, what are your thoughts on that?

Mohammad Wasim: Shoaib did not have a problem with Inzamam, it was the other way around where Inzamam had problems with Shoaib, but unfortunately Inzamam over the years has had problems with quite a few other players too, especially senior players.


PakPassion.Net: You were the star performer in Australia in 1997 when Pakistan won the tri series against a very powerful West Indies team and Australian team - tell us about your memories of that series?

Mohammad Wasim: It was the best time of my life. I was a young man enjoying my cricket, playing cricket with no worries, no pressure and to the best of my ability. There were no team politics to worry about, there were senior players around to look after the younger players and it was a real pleasure being there with those senior players. I received some fantastic support from the skipper Wasim Akram. Wasim kept saying to me "you are the main man, just go out there and bat to the best of your ability". "Just keep things simple and the runs will come". He gave me so much confidence. I scored 40 odd in a warm up match before the series started and that gave me a lot of confidence and self belief as it was the first time I had batted on the bouncy tracks of Australia. I remember Aamir Sohail saying to me that even Javed Miandad had struggled on the Aussie wickets the first time he batted, yet here you are looking so comfortable on these tracks.


PakPassion.Net: What was it like playing for Otago in New Zealand and what was the standard of cricket like there?

Mohammad Wasim: Its a totally different environment to Pakistan. The domestic cricket is well structured, well managed and disciplined not like in Pakistan where domestic cricket can be a bit chaotic and poorly organised. The wickets are like England, green, seaming tracks and generally not too batting friendly. The bowlers in New Zealand know their art very well, yes they are not always the quickest but they know the wickets so well and how to bowl on those tracks. I really enjoyed the experience and I think it did me no harm at all.


PakPassion.Net: How were you feeling when you scored 109 not out on debut at Lahore on debut against New Zealand yet Pakistan lost that test match - did you feel you could have lead your team to victory that day if the support from other players had been better?

Mohammad Wasim: (Laughs). You are bringing back some happy memories today Sajid. I remember walking out onto the ground before the game and the crowd were shouting who is this sifarshi to me. It was a big crowd and there was quite a lot of abuse as they didnt know who I was and why I had been selected. It startled me a little in that this was a Pakistani crowd saying this about a young Pakistani debutant, but it also made me feel more determined to do well. I was very young and didnt really feel any pressure. In a strange way I was too young to feel any pressure and was just playing my natural game and enjoying my cricket. Mushy and I could have won the match and we were batting well together but Shakoor Rana gave a horrible decision to Mushy and the rest as they say is history.


PakPassion.Net: Do you feel that some players were given far more opportunities than yourself in the test team, and if so why do you think that is?

Mohammad Wasim: I have no regrets and really enjoyed my time representing my country. I do feel though that I should have been given a few more opportunities than I was given. When I was playing domestic cricket in New Zealand the selectors asked me to come back to Pakistan and play some domestic cricket back there as they knew I wa doing well in New Zealand and they were looking to see what sort of form I was in. Things were sounding very promising, but then the selection committee changed and they had their own ideas on which players should be selected. 

When I last toured England with Waqar as skipper, whilst nothing was said to me and there were no incidents or disagreements, I felt that Waqar didnt really rate me on that tour and that affected my confidence. Then with Inzamam as skipper, I always felt that Inzi didnt really want too many senior players around him like myself and Misbah and he preferred to have a young group of players with him. Maybe he felt a bit threatened as far as the captaincy was concerned if he had senior and experienced players around him.


PakPassion.Net: Do you have any plans on joining any of the Twenty/20 leagues?

Mohammad Wasim: The ICL was an option for a number of Pakistani players including myself, but at this moment in time I decided I still wanted to play domestic cricket in Pakistan for at least another couple of seasons. We'll see in 2 or 3 years what options are available and what is around then.


PakPassion.Net: Who was most instrumental in getting you into the Pakistan team?

Mohammad Wasim: There were a couple of people mainly. Firstly Majid Khan who was the Chief Executive of the PCB. He watched me a number of times and always had good things to say about me. Under Majid Khan the PCB regime was a very honest and accountable one, unlike some of the more recent regimes. 

Haroon Rashid was the other individual responsible for my inclusion in the Pakistan team. He was the coach of the Pakistan Under 19 team when I played at that level and he pushed for my selection and showed a lot of faith in me.


PakPassion.Net: During the tri series in Australia in 1996/97 you seemed like the best Pakistani batsman. I especially remember an innings of 54 on a horrible Hobart pitch. What are your thoughts about that tour and that Hobart innings in particular?

Mohammad Wasim: I remember that innings very well. We won the toss and batted first. The pitch was so bad that we all thought that if we got 150 that score could be a winning one. The pitch was seaming and there was plenty in it for the bowlers. I remember we lost quite a few early wickets and the skipper Wasim Akram told me to try and bat out the full 50 overs and look to take singles and not to take any risks. The plan worked and we won that match.


PakPassion.Net: The best I saw you play in test cricket was when you made 91 in the first innings of the infamous Hobart test of 1999, could you describe the state of the dressing room after that match had been lost?

Mohammad Wasim: That indeed is my all time favourite innings. I played Warne with ease and I still remember him getting very frustrated with me and sledging me again and again. I just smiled back at him and then he was taken off by his skipper. The pitch initially was wet with the ball seaming around. We lost early wickets with Saeed Anwar going cheaply. When Saeed was out that motivated me to dig in and help my team. I can still visualise the looks on the faces of my team mates after we lost that match, we were distraught but also very disappointed with some of the umpiring. Langer had some lives in that match including a well known caught behind and a plumb leg before decision that wasnt given.


PakPassion.Net: Why do we lack good openers and who do you see as the best two openers in Pakistan at the moment?

Mohammad Wasim: Apart from myself (laughs), I would play in test cricket Salman Butt and Azhar Ali. Azhar is someone who has played with me at KRL for a number of years. He is technically very sound with a simple technique, has very good balance a very good temperament and I think is deserving of a chance.

In ODIs I would open with Khurram Manzoor and Umar Amin. Give them both a number of matches to try and cement their places and see what they are capable of. We have been guilty of playing too many makeshift openers over the years. Opening the batting is a specialst position and you need to open the innings with specialists in that position.


PakPassion.Net: I notice you havent mentioned the promising Nasir Jamshed to open in any format of the game for Pakistan?

Mohammad Wasim: Nasir is a decent player, but he hasnt really played against anyone. He needs to prove himself yet in domestic cricket and gain more experience. He has the tendency to play reckless shots and by doing that bowlers will work him out too easily.


PakPassion.Net: What was it like playing with the great Saeed Anwar?

Mohammad Wasim: It was great fun. I would stand at the none strikers end and just watch him smash the ball to all parts. It didnt matter who the bowler was and what the pitch was like. Players of Saeed's calibre dont come around very often and it will be a very long time before Pakistan find another player like him. Not only was he a great strokemaker but he was also very mentally tough. Its a big shame that he isnt involved in cricket any longer as I think he would have been a great coach and role model to the youngsters.


PakPassion.Net: Which bowler(s) did you find the toughest to bat against?

Mohammad Wasim: It would have to be Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. Their height gave them the ability to gain that extra bouce just off a length when you least expected it. Also they were so accurate, they gave you virtually no loose deliveries.


PakPassion.Net: Tell us about your most memorable moment during your career?

Mohammad Wasim: It would have to be winning the tri series in Australia when Pakistan became the first overseas team to win a tri series in Australia and it was the first time the Aussies hadnt reached the final in their own country. I really enjoyed that series and scored some valuable runs and got a couple of man of the match awards. Also it woud have to be 190 plus against Zimbabwe, who of course were a much stronger team when I played against them compared to the team of today. I got the man of the match award when I scored the 190.


PakPassion.Net: Name the best captain you have played under and what made that individual so good?

Mohammad Wasim: No doubt about it, it would have to be Wasim Akram. I played under 8 or 9 different captains in my career and Wasim was by far the best. He was a very good leader, he led from the front and he was a great player himself. Some captains want their players to do this and that, yet they are incapable of performing themselves - Wasim was a case in hand where he performed very well and was an inspiration to his team mates. He was also a very good motivator, he knew what made his colleagues tick and he knew how to get the best out of different individuals within the squad.


PakPassion.Net: Where do you think your future lies? After speaking to you I would recommend some work in the commentary box.

Mohammad Wasim: I would like to continue to play domestic cricket and I believe I am fit enough and good enough to play for another couple of years or so (Wasim has just scored a run a ball century in KRL's last QEA Trophy match). After the playing career is over, I'd like to do some coaching and help some of the upcoming talent in Pakistan. As well as that, as you mention commentating is a possibilty.


PakPassion.Net: Can you point out any upcoming batsmen in domestic cricket who have impressed you?

Mohammad Wasim: To be honest with you there isnt really a lot of talent that stands out these days. There are a lot of batsmen who are decent, but you dont get the impression that they can be world beaters. However Umar Amin and Azhar Ali are two that I think deserve a chance at international level.


PakPassion.Net: Very few players in international cricket nowadays have a nice straight bat and compact defensive technique like you did. Do you feel being such a defensive player is partly the reason for your downfall when you see the way cricket is played these days? Do you think if you were born 10 years earlier you could have become a regular for the Pakistani team?

Mohammad Wasim: Technique isnt the be all and end all as far as I am concerned. There are a number of international players out there who arent technically great but they are effective. Take for example Kevin Pietersen, he is not technically great but he scores loads of runs - he has many other assets like mental toughness, knowing his strengths. I'm sure players would rather score plenty of runs, irrespective of their technique.


PakPassion.Net: You were with Ijaz at the end of his murderous innings of 139* against India in Lahore. Would you rate that to be the most destructive annihilation of a bowling attack that you ever witnessed?

Mohammad Wasim: (laughs). Its funny you should ask me about this innings, as I was asked about this innings just the other day by one of my KRL team mates. It was a brutal innings and I told Ijaz to look for the singles at first, but he wasnt interested in singles that day. Ijaz came to the crease and you could sense from his eyes that he meant business. I remember Ganguly came onto bowl and Ijaz launched him into the stands for a huge six very first ball. Ijaz had plenty to say to Ganguly on that day. Ganguly had troubled the Pakistan batsman in Canada prior to this match and Ijaz said to him in Lahore "you were bowling like a king in Canada, now lets see what you are made of here". 


PakPassion.Net: You are the captain of the KRL side, do you see any potential fast bowlers, batsmen and/or allrounders in domestic cricket who you think could be a superstar in future?

Mohammad Wasim: There isnt any breathtaking talent in all honesty. Umar Amin looks a very good batsman from what I have seen of him. Mohammed Aamer is a very good left arm bowler who Wasim Akram rates highly and Wasim is normally spot on with his judgement of upcoming talent. Aamer should be in the Pakistan squad already in my opinion. Bazid Khan is someone who I think should have been given more opportunities than he had. Saeed Anwar junior is a very talented batsman in my opinion. Junaid Khan is also one to watch out for, he isnt as quick as the likes of Aamer but he is a very talented left arm seamer. One other player to mention is Azhar Ali, a batman who I think should have been given a chance for the Pakistan side.


PakPassion.Net: You are someone who has captained at junior level, "A" team level and in domestic cricket for a number of years, what are your views on Shoaib Malik's captaincy (note this question was asked prior to Malik's removal as captain)

Mohammad Wasim: One of Malik's biggest problems is that he hasnt got the respect of the senior players around him in the Pakistan team. You have to earn respect and if your team mates arent behind you, then you are going to have problems. He hasnt really got any credentials to be captain and he hasnt really played much cricket at the highest level - what I mean by this is that he hasnt even yet toured SA or Australia or England as skipper and yet is struggling. In all honesty if he wasnt skipper he'd struggle to get into the test team. 


PakPassion.Net: What are your views on Fawad Alam?

Mohammad Wasim: He needs to work out whether he is a batsman or a bowler. At the moment he is neither. His batting isnt international class and neither is his bowling. If I were him I would work on my batting and look to grasp that number 5 or 6 spot in the Pakistan team.

The lad is physically very fit and is a very fine fielder, but at this moment in time I dont think he is international class.


PakPassion.Net: Wasim bhai, many thanks for your time over the last couple of evenings, its been a pleasure chatting to you and hopefully we can catch up at some point in the future.

Mohammad Wasim: You are welcome. Yes sure, it would be good to speak again. Allah Hafiz

 

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed above are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of PakPassion.net.

PakPassion.net is a cricket fan's forum and strives to bring to the fans the views of those involved in the game. The views of such external contributors are presented without editorialising or comment by PakPassion.net. 

PakPassion.net does not accept responsibility for any reliance being placed on any of the information contained in this external article; anyone relying on the information presented herein does so entirely at their own risk.