Reverse swing is an art bowled by a few: Waqar

Pakistan’s reverse swing king Waqar Younis has pointed out that reverse swing is an art bowled by a few bowlers and not everyone can perform with the ball he and his mate Wasim (Akram) used to do.

“When I was really small I loved the Pakistan cricket team. Waqar was one of the greatest bowlers ever, and I was a bowler so I really enjoyed watching him. I was a big Pakistan fan until I got older, when I noticed that I should actually support my home team,” Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest sprinter from Jamaica, had once famously answered when asked who were his heroes when he was a child.

What began with Safraz Nawaz was made popular by Younis. The Pakistani fast bowler had mastered the nuances of reverse swing and terrorised the batsmen in his nearly 15-year-old career. Younis’ trademark was his ability to reverse swing the ball at high speed and this made him one of the most talented and feared fast bowlers in modern cricket. He took 373 Test and 416 ODI wickets. Younis has the best strike rate for any bowler with over 350 Test wickets. In terms of deliveries bowled, he has taken the fastest 50, 300, 350 and 400 wickets in ODI matches and the fastest 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 wickets in Tests.

The 41-year-old former Pakistan fast bowler and captain has now taken up the challenge of guiding the Hyderabad Sunrisers pacers in the IPL. “When I started my career, reverse swing was a new thing and not many knew what it was all about. Hence, the batsmen were caught unawares and I was quite successful. But now the players are quite aware of it and have spent a lot of time studying it and have come up with ways to counter it. Hence, the element of surprise is not there anymore and bowlers now have to work harder than we did. Yet, it is an effective way of getting a batsman out,” Younis said.

Younis, however, said everyone cannot bowl the reverse swing. “All fast bowlers cannot bowl the reverse swing. If you look around the world, only a few are successful at it. This is because of the style and action of the bowler. Only some can effectively bowl the reverse swing. Every bowler has a different role and hence my job is to see who fits where. I will be working closely with the newcomers and see if any of them are suited to bowl the reverse swing. T20 is a fast game and hence strategies have to be planned accordingly,” the ‘Burewala Express’ said.