Australian Shane Warne joined hands with fellow commentators Michael Atherton and Ramiz Raja to pick the greatest from the 1990s era to take on the best of the current lot.
And much to the liking of local cricket fans, the former spinner revealed the names of three Pakistanis in the 24 names he put forward.
Apart from making Wasim Akram the captain of 1990s World 11 team, the veteran also picked former left-handed batsman Saeed Anwar as the opener of the 1990s team, whereas leg-spinner Yasir Shah was picked in the current World 11 team.
While Warne’s love for Pakistani leggie is no secret in the cricketing fraternity, what was surprising was the role assigned to Wasim in World 11. The 46-year-old has never been shy of showing his admiration for Yasir, who is currently struggling against England after a man of the match performance in the first Test at Lord’s cricket ground.
Earlier this week, Australian bowler Mitchell Starc also revealed that he idolises Wasim, who he believes to be “an absolute genius”.
Talking to the Herald Sun, the 26-year-old said that the veteran’s 414-wicket body of work in 104 Tests set the standard for all left-armers.
“He was an absolute genius at bowling conventional swing, reverse swing, and bowling fast,” he said. “He set the standard of left-arm fast bowling.”
He added: “If I could be even half the bowler that he was, that would be great.”
