Waqar Younis born on 16 November 1971 is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket and widely regarded as one of the best fast bowlers of all time.

He was best known in cricket for his ability to reverse swing a cricket ball at high speed when bowling at the cricket pitch. He took 373 Test wickets and 416 One Day International wickets during his career. Younis has the best strike rate for any bowler with over 200 Test wickets. He worked as a bowling coach with the national side from 2006 to 2007.

Cricket career

Younis made his debut for Pakistan against India on 15 November, 1989, in the same match that Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar made his debut. Younis took 4 wickets in the drawn match including wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev. He made an immediate impression with his speed and became known in the cricket media as "Wiki" or the "Burewala Express". Later, along with Wasim Akram, Younis opened the bowling attack regularly for Pakistan, becoming a feared and potent attack. His most recognized delivery was an in-swinging yorker. At his peak, he developed into a quick fast bowler and also became famous for achieving a hat-trick against New Zealand in 1992.

Skills in Cricket

Younis is one of several Pakistani fast bowlers, beginning with Sarfraz Nawaz, who have been successful at bowling reverse swing. In partnership with Wasim Akram, Younis opened the Pakistan bowling attack in the 1990s. Many attribute Younis and Akram to be one of the most effective fast bowling partnerships in cricket, due to their ability to swing the ball at high speed. The ability to reverse swing and his speed led to him becoming one of the most talented fast bowlers in modern cricket.

Cricket controversies

In July 2000 Younis became the first cricket player to be banned for ball tampering and was fined 50% of his match fee.