Wasim Akram (Urdu: ???? ??????; born 3 June 1966) is a former Pakistani cricketer, cricket commentator and television personality. He is acknowledged as one of the greatest bowlers of all time. A left-arm fast bowler who could bowl with significant pace, he represented the Pakistan cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International (ODI) matches. In October 2013, Wasim Akram was the only Pakistani cricketer to be named in an all-time Test World XI to mark the 150th anniversary of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

Wasim Akram
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Akram at the 2018 Global Education and Skills Forum
Personal information
Full name	Wasim Akram
Born	(1966-06-03) 3 June 1966 (age 52) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Nickname	Sultan of Swing (along with Waqar Younis)
Batting	Left handed
Bowling	Left arm fast
Role	Bowling all-rounder
International information
National side	Pakistan
Test debut (cap 102)	25 January 1985 v New Zealand
Last Test	9 January 2002 v Bangladesh
ODI debut (cap 53)	23 November 1984 v New Zealand
Last ODI	4 March 2003 v Zimbabwe
ODI shirt no.	13 (was 12,13 and 1 as captain)
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2003	Hampshire
1992–2002	PIA
1988–1998	Lancashire
1985–1987, 1997–1998, 2000–2001	Lahore
1984–1986	Pakistan Automobiles Corporation
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 104 356 257 594 Runs scored 2,898 3,717 7,161 6,993 Batting average 22.64 16.52 22.73 18.90 100s/50s 3/7 0/6 7/24 0/17 Top score 257* 86 257* 89* Balls bowled 22,627 18,186 50,278 29,719 Wickets 414 502 1,042 881 Bowling average 23.62 23.52 21.64 21.91 5 wickets in innings 25 6 70 12 10 wickets in match 5 0 16 0 Best bowling 7/119 5/15 8/30 5/10 Catches/stumpings 44/– 88/– 97/– 147/–
Source: ESPNCricinfo, 4 April 2012

Akram is regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of game, and perhaps the finest of all left-arm fast bowlers. He holds the world record for most wickets in List A cricket, with 881, and he is second only to Sri Lankan off-spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan in terms of ODI wickets, with 502 in total. He is considered to be one of the founders—and perhaps the finest exponent of—reverse swing bowling.

He was the first bowler to reach the 500-wicket mark in ODI cricket during the 2003 World Cup. In 2002, Wisden released its only list of best players of all time. Wasim was ranked as the best bowler in ODI of all time, with a rating of 1223.5, ahead of Allan Donald, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis, Joel Garner, Glenn McGrath and Muralitharan. Wasim has taken 23 four-wicket hauls in ODI in 356 matches he played. On 30 September 2009, Akram was one of five new members inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. He was the bowling coach of Kolkata Knight Riders. However, he took a break from the position for IPL 6, citing a need to spend more time with family in Karachi, and he took a further break from the upcoming IPL 2017; during this time, Akram will be replaced by Lakshmipathy Balaji.

He was working as director and bowling coach of Islamabad United in Pakistan Super League, until he left to join Multan Sultans in August 2017.