Did Waqar Younis cheat with ball to generate reverse swing? Mohammad Asif makes shocking claim
Waqar Younis is a former Pakistani cricketer who was famous for his pace bowling. Currently, he is the bowling coach of the Pakistan national side. Mohammad Asif, too, was one of the young pace bowling sensations before tarnishing his image due to spot-fixing.
FollowWhile Pakistan continues to struggle to impact world cricket, it is still glorified for its past success, especially for producing numerous top-class fast bowlers, who were among the most feared in the world. While legendary Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar ruled the world, Waqar Younis did the same due to his ability to swing and attain reverse swing.
Although there are some promising talents in the current Pakistan side, none have really impacted in the longer run. Meanwhile, Mohammad Asif was an encouraging pace and seam bowling talent before tarnishing his image due to the infamous spot-fixing scandal in England in 2010.
Nonetheless, Asif has come up with a shocking claim, as he has targeted the current bowling coach of the national team, Waqar. According to Asif, Waqar cheated with the ball to generate the reverse swing, besides claiming that the latter leant the reverse swing art at his career’s gloaming phase.
“He (Waqar) used to cheat with the ball to do reverse swing. He didn’t know how to bowl with the new ball in most of his career. He learned a bit about bowling a new ball in the twilight phase of his career,” Asif told Pakkistan channel ARY News, reports The Indian Express.
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“You know him as a master of reverse swing, but he never developed a single bowler who could bowl a perfect reverse swing. These people are in coaching for the last 20 years, but they never produced quality bowlers. They lack consistency in making combinations. We have quantity, not quality bowlers,” he added.
Regardless of the claim that Asif makes, it is unlikely that he would make a comeback to the national side ever again. While Waqar claimed around 800 international wickets in Tests and One-Day Internationals, Asif could manage just above 150 across the three formats.
Asif was handed a seven-year ban from cricket by the International Cricket Council for his spot-fixing involvement. Although he continues to play domestic cricket since 2017, he has never been considered for international cricket by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
