Born on June 3, 1966, Wasim Akram is known as one of the best bowlers of his generation. His deadly pace and swing sent shivers to the best of the batsmen of his generation. Akram was best described as the Sultan of Swing by his teammate Waqar Younis. In October 2013, Wasim Akram was the only Pakistani cricketer to be named in an all-time Test World XI to mark the 150th anniversary of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. After Akram hung up his boots in 2003, he continued to remain in touch with the game by being coaching different teams. Wasim Akram, Babar Azam to Inspire Pakistan Women’s Team.

In fact, even in the India Premier League, Akram had been the bowling coach of Shah Rukh Khan owned franchise Kolkata Knight Riders. As the former Pakistani pacer turns 55, we give you seven interesting facts about the pacer and a few of his precious moments with his family.

    • As opposed to the popular belief,  it was Javed Miandad and not Imran Khan who had spotted Wasim Akram's talent at an early age.

    • Wasim Akram never played first-class cricket yet he made it to the Pakistan squad in 1984-85.

  • The Sultan of Swing became the first bowler to scalp 500 ODI wickets.

  • He was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 30 and recalls it as a very terrible phase.

 

  • Akram got married to Huma Mufti in 1996 but she passed away due to multiple organ failure in 2009.

  • He got married to Shaniera Thompson in 2013 & the two are blessed with a daughter named Aiyla Sabeen Rose Akram.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Happy days #UpNorth #KPK #Love #Pakistan #WithMyLady

A post shared by Wasim Akram (@wasimakramliveofficial) on

  • Akram Walked the Ramp at the Pantene Bridal Couture Week 2011 Which Was an Event of Style 360.

 

That's all we have for now. If you think that we have missed on any interesting fact about Akram feel free to contribute in the Comments section. Coming back to Wasim Akram's birthday, we wish him a Very Very Happy Birthday!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 03, 2020 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).