Wasim Akram calls Mitchell Starc his favourite bowler in the world
Former Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has revealed his most favourite bowler in the world at the moment. Not surprisingly, it is a fellow left-arm seamer who he has often worked with during the recent past. Australian spearhead Mitchell Starc’s ability to swing the ball at significant pace makes him a dangerous proposition, according to the ‘Sultan of Swing’.
Akram said, “He’s my favourite bowler in world cricket right now, Mitchell Starc. I’ve worked with him before in Melbourne and in Sydney, he (is extremely dangerous as he) bowls pace and swing. He’s got both. He has a high arm action and he uses his crease beautifully. And he’s smart.”
The 50-year old represented Pakistan in 104 Tests and 356 ODIs with a combined tally of 916 wickets which is the fifth highest of all time in international cricket. Renowned for his propensity to swing the new ball and reverse the older one at a healthy pace, Akram carved a niche for himself in the modern era.
He began his career as a tear away quick but gradually learnt to utilize the angles smartly and set batsmen up by delivering intense spells. While Starc has already established himself as one of the premier bowlers in the current limited-overs game, his Test career has not quite hit its peak yet.
Shortly after making his Test debut in the 2011/12 season, the 26-year old shed light into the advice given by Akram. He had quipped, “It was a brief chat. I had the opportunity to catch up with him in Sydney. It was about wrist position to get the ball to swing consistently. I hope to catch up with him again. He is a genius and chatting with him would not do any harm.”
Akram regularly speaks about the importance of getting the wrist position right for any fast bowler to consistently swing the ball. While Starc‘s strength lies in swinging the full delivery late into the right-hander, he has recently shown the capability to move the ball in the other direction as well.
2016 has been quite an eventful year for Starc with a horrific training mishap sandwiched between a heartening performance in Sri Lanka and a decent showing at home against the Proteas. During the first Test of the ongoing Pakistan series, he produced the game-changing breakthrough by bouncing out a well-set Asad Shafiq to seal a thrilling victory at the Gabba.