Former Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram is one of the most lethal bowlers of his time. Many controversies had been frisked to his name during his playing career, and one of the top rumours was his absence in the quarterfinal match of the 1996 World Cup against India.
Akram was the skipper of the Pakistani team in that match, and he pulled out his name from the playing XI just before the fifteen minutes of the toss, and even after 26 years, he is facing questions on the same incident.
Earlier, in Interaction with the media, Akram had explained his absence in the all-important clash against India when a Pakistani fan left him frustrated in front of the press.
“I got injured during the game against New Zealand. I got 34 runs. I went for a sweep shot, the fine leg was up, and I got my muscle pulled. That takes six weeks to recover. The reason we didn’t tell the press was because India would have gained confidence if they knew I wasn’t playing,” Akram said.
Again Interaction with the media, Akram said that the entire moment was “embarrassing,” explained the controversy in detail, and asked why I was being blamed even though I was not playing that match. They were winning the game till the first 15th Overs of the innings.
“Knowing the cricket in the 90s, there was hardly any trust, in a way. You see, coming to the 96 World Cup quarterfinal, 11 players were winning the game till the 15th over, second innings. Suddenly, they lost wickets and the blame came on me. I still can’t get over it. What were the 11 people doing there who were chasing 270-odd, being 124/0 (113/2) in 15 overs? How did that news came out? Who spread that news? Think about it.” Akram asked.
Again he was asked whether he acknowledged this controversy during his retirement. In the reply, Akram said this incident made him more vital than ever.
“I’m a stubborn person. If somebody pushes me the wrong way, I’ll make sure I stand. I didn’t want my cricket to finish. I wanted to play cricket for Pakistan while certain people didn’t want me to play. That actually motivated me to play cricket,” said Akram.
