‘Our moods would remain on and off’: Wasim Akram opens up on relationship with Waqar Younis during playing days – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

The two W’s of the Pakistan team, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, were one of the most lethal pair of pacers across the globe in the 1990s. The two have taken a combined tally of 787 wickets in Test cricket, and although the two shared a good friendship, not all was well between them all the time.

In legendary pacer Shoaib Akhtar’s biography Controversially Yours that was released in 2011, the Rawalpindi Express had mentioned that both Wasim and Waqar were involved in a heated exchange following Pakistan’s 212-run defeat to India in a Test match in Delhi, back in 1999.

“We lost the Delhi Test and Wasim got into an argument with Waqar. It got so bad that a rumour started doing the rounds that Waqar was to be sent back home,” Akhtar had written in his autobiography.

Akhtar continued, mentioning that the two veterans were ‘at war’ that left everyone in the team ‘stressed out’. “But the entire squad left for Kolkata for the first Test of the Championship. Inside the dressing room, things got uglier. I do not remember it ever being as tense as it was then. The two seniors were at war and we were a young and fresh team. Everyone was stressed out,” Akhtar had written.

Wasim Akram recently recalled their feud in a show called ‘To Be Honest’ by Nashpati Prime.

“We had our differences. When you are 23-24 years old, it happens. But there was always healthy competition between us. We never used to think bad about each other. We wouldn’t want the other to not pick wickets. In fact, if one used to pick five wickets, the other would say ‘I too would want to get five’. And that happened too (against New Zealand),” Akram said.

Akram went on to add that although their rivalry remained healthy, their moods kept fluctuating on and off the field.

“So there always was a healthy rivalry, but our moods would remain on and off. Sometimes it also happened because of teammates. Sometimes they would praise one, other times the other,” Akram added.

However, the duo seem to have moved on from their feud and have respected each other greatly. Earlier this year, Wasim was inducted into the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Hall of Fame, with Waqar congratulating Wasim on Twitter, writing: “Pride of performance, Hilal-e-Imtiaz, ICC & PCB Hall of Fame. 916 Inter wkts with 3 Hat tricks. Heroes come and go but Legends are forever. Tribute to the Legend. @wasimakramlive Well deserve Honour @TheRealPCB Proud moment for all”.

Both of them had also appeared together in ‘A Sports’, Pakistan’s talk show during the T20 World Cup.

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