Pakistan vs England: Wasim Akram celebrates Pak victory as best gift on his birthday

NOTTINGHAM: The Swing King and the master of Yorker Wasim Akram, who turned 53 on June 3,  celebrated his birthday at Trent Bridge stadium  w here Pakistan recorded 14-run thumping victory against the tournament’s favourites England on Monday.

Sharing his bliss after Pakistan's great win  against  the hosts, the legendary pacer said:  "I have turned 53 today and there can’t be any better gift on my birthday than this. This is best present I have ever got in my life."

Earlier on the day, the former captain took to his Twitter account  to thank  his fans for all the birthday wishes, hopping that the Men in Green would make his day better by registering their first victory in the World Cup 2019.

Pakistan defended 348 to beat England by 14 runs in World Cup game at Trent Bridge on Monday, the day when the former captain and one of the greatest fast bowler celebrated his 53rd birthday.

Talking to Geo’s segment “Swing Ka Sultan” the fast bowler said that this victory was much needed and it will give team Pakistan the confidence they wanted for long.

“We needed this victory as a nation and as a team. This will provide us much needed confidence. Winning against the home favorites will surely boost the morale,” he added.

He also praised Pakistan’s winning combination and insisted that there’s no need to change the combination in next game, against Sri Lanka, at Bristol.

“I think Pakistan played with a perfect combination today, at first I wasn’t in favor of dropping the fifth bowler but then I realized that the fifth bowler Imad Wasim is more or less similar,” he said.

Praising Mohammad Hafeez’s batting, Wasim said that the all-rounder batted comfortably because he knew that there was enough batting after him in the line-up which allowed him to play freely.

However, despite the win, Wasim highlighted that there are still areas which Pakistan needs to improve. Specially, the fielding.

“InshaAllah, Pakistan will carry on the momentum. There were minor mistakes and I hope team will learn from that too. It’s a long tournament and I hope momentum will continue,” the former captain hoped.

Talking about team’s unpredictable nature, Wasim said that this is what makes Pakistan team attractive for everyone.

Wasim Akram, who is regarded as the greatest fast bowler in the world, has more than 500 ODI wickets to his credit.

The legendary pacer was born in 1966.  Akram made his international debut for Pakistan in 1984 in an ODI match against New Zealand. He went wicketless in his debut but that was the start of a glorious career as Pakistan witnessed the rise of a future great. Akram soon came in the reckoning in the longest format of the game, as well.

He made his Test debut in January next year against the Black Caps. He might not have had the best of starts to his international career but Akram went on to establish his credentials as one of the most destructive pace bowlers around as he combined his pace and guile with quick variations to trouble the best of the batsmen. 

The  two Pathan brothers of India wished the fast bowler through their tweet and they still regard him as the best of all time. Irfan Pathan tweeted as, “Still stop and pause on the channel if his bowling highlights are on, Best left arm bowler of all time @wasimakramlive bhai happy birthday to you”. His brother all-rounder, Yusuf Pathan also poured his wishes for the Pakistani stalwart. He tweeted, “Wishing one of the finest pacers @wasimakramlive bhai a very happy birthday. May you have a healthy year going ahead. #birthday”.