{"id":1185449,"date":"2026-09-04T05:19:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T05:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1185449\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T05:19:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T05:19:20","slug":"wasim-akram-says-india-bowler-he-once-gave-tips-to-now-takes-digs-at-pakistan-he-was-a-fan-grew-up-watching-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1185449\/","title":{"rendered":"Wasim Akram says India bowler he once gave tips to, now takes digs at Pakistan: \u2018He was a fan, grew up watching us\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a famous saying in Delhi\u2019s local cricketing circuit: Har jawaan left-arm pacer khud ko Akram samajhta hai (every young left-arm pacer sees himself as Wasim Akram<\/a>. It is not said to demean the bowler in any way, but rather as a tribute to the man widely regarded as the greatest left-arm fast bowler of all time. Wasim Akram was many things: an all-rounder, a captain and a handy lower-order batter who once scored 257, his highest Test score. But what he achieved with the ball remains unmatched, even 23 years after his retirement. With 502 ODI wickets, he still holds the record for being the pacer with most wickets in the format, second overall after Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan. Perhaps, after Imran Khan<\/a> and Javed Miandad, Akram remains Pakistan\u2019s third-finest cricketer of all time.<\/p>\n

\"WasimWasim Akram during the 2024 T20 World Cup (AFP)<\/p>\n

So, when a young left-arm pacer from India wreaked havoc in Australia and Pakistan in 2003, it was believed that he was going to play forever. His start was euphoric. Making his Test debut in Sydney, he dismissed Steve Waugh before getting Adam Gilchrist with a reverse-swinging yorker. In the ODI tri-series, he picked up 16 wickets from 10 matches and later, when he toured Pakistan, grabbed eight from three. With Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra already established, Irfan Pathan<\/a>\u2019s rise gave India their own version of Wasim Akram. He had a similar action, was quick and, most importantly, could make the ball reverse.<\/p>\n

Also Read: <\/strong>Virat Kohli vs Wasim Akram – What would happen if the two cricket giants collided at their peak in a Super Over showdown<\/a><\/p>\n

Pathan picked Akram\u2019s brain and went on to become India\u2019s new-ball bowler for several years, but his career floundered due to injuries and the emergence of a new generation of Indian pacers. The man who won the Player of the Match award in India’s T20 World Cup final victory over Pakistan announced his retirement in 2020, but his foray into broadcasting and presence on social media have continued to generate buzz. Pathan, in fact, is one of the most vocal former Indian cricketers.<\/p>\n

When Pathan first met Akram<\/p>\n

Recalling the time he first spoke to Pathan and passed on a few tips, Akram mentioned that the former India all-rounder is active on X (formerly Twitter) and makes a point of expressing exactly how he feels, especially when it comes to Pakistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIrfan met me in 2004 on his first tour to Australia, I was commentating for ESPNStar. He was a big fan. Grew up watching us. I gave him a few tips here and there, but he did well early on in his career. His action was similar to mine from the very beginning. But when players ask you about something, what you tell them is mostly about the mindset. Action and all is fine, because at that stage, you have reached that level where you\u2019re representing the country. Things like wrist position and how to suss out a batsman. When to use variations, when not to. So yeah, it was good fun. Irfan is a good boy; he still keeps meeting me. It\u2019s a different thing that he keeps tweeting some or the other thing against Pakistan. But our fans are ready too. They don\u2019t have the tendency to ignore either. They just have to reply,\u201d Akram said on the 1 Mint podcast.<\/p>\n

Pathan enjoyed bowling against Pakistan, picking up 67 wickets from 36 internationals – 27 in Tests, 34 in ODIs and 6 in T20Is. Pathan also claimed a hat-trick against Pakistan in 2006 in Karachi, dismissing Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf in the first over.<\/p>\n

He has often spoken out against Pakistan, taking digs at their cricket and cricketers. In a podcast about a year ago, Pathan spoke about how Shahid Afridi crossed the line<\/a> while travelling on the same flight in the early stages of his career. He was also outspoken around the time of the Asia Cup 2025, particularly after the final, when the drama involving Mohsin Naqvi unfolded, and the PCB chief left the venue with the Asia Cup trophy without handing it over to the victorious Indian team.<\/p>\n

Besides, his tweets – \u201cSunday kaisa raha, padosiyo?\u201d – whenever India defeated Pakistan, be it in the Asia Cup, last year\u2019s Champions Trophy or the 2024 T20 World Cup before that, have often been received with a pinch of salt across the border.<\/p>\n

\u2018India vs Pakistan is just a game\u2019<\/p>\n

Akram knows the hype surrounding an India-Pakistan match better than most. He has been part of many unforgettable battles, but, as someone who has repeatedly stressed that it should simply be treated as a game, Akram reiterated his point. The noise around an India-Pakistan game today is as big as it was in the 1990s, largely driven by social media. But Akram reminded everyone once again that at the end of the day, it\u2019s only a cricket match.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have too much time. Why can\u2019t they understand? It\u2019s only a frikkin game. At the end of the day, it\u2019s just a match. Somebody has to win, somebody has to lose. And move on to the next one. But no, what happened many moons ago still lingers. Revenge and all is so 1970. It\u2019s the classic \u2018en empty mind is a devil\u2019s workshop, thought process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a famous saying in Delhi\u2019s local cricketing circuit: Har jawaan left-arm pacer khud ko Akram samajhta hai…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1185450,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4101],"tags":[1406,124064,79,16,15,14463],"class_list":["post-1185449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cricket","tag-cricket","tag-irfan-pathan","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-wasim-akram"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117211089507382815","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1185449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1185449\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1185450"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1185449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1185449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1185449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}