Just In: Veteran all-rounder Wasim Akram reminisced about the time before joining the Pakistan National Team. He said, “There was a point when I wanted to join a local cricket club but didn’t have 100 PKR to pay club fees.”
Wasim Akram, one of Pakistan’s most productive and prolific wicket-takers, amassed 916 international wickets in Test and One-Day International cricket. Notably, Akram made his National Team debut despite having never played first-class cricket.
Speaking to “The Grade Cricketer,” a Local Sports Channel program, the former cricketer didn’t hold back when recounting difficult events from the past. Akram recalled a period when he wanted to join a cricket club but was unable to pay the dues, which were approximately 100 in Pakistani currency.
“I joined a cricket club in Lahore after one of my friends, former first-class cricketer Khalid Mahmood saw me playing. I told him I won’t afford 100 rupees per month to join the club. He said, don’t worry, they won’t charge you. Then, during the camp at the Gaddafi Stadium, I bowled to Miandad a few deliveries, and he was quite impressed.”
“Later that month, I was shortlisted for the tour of New Zealand. The manager gave me 3000 rupees. That was a lot of money for me. My dad used to give me 200 a month. In the first innings, I got 7/50 – I don’t know how”, Akram Concluded.
