IMAD WASIM

Imad Wasim had been set to study medicine but the offer to play for the Pakistan Under-19 made him change his mind and since then there has been no looking back. Like many aspiring players from his country, he wanted to emulate Wasim Akram but he didn’t have the pace his coaches were looking for. Still, the switch to left-arm spin has worked for him. A capable middle-order batsman as well, he was part of the Pakistan side that won the Youth World Cup in 2006, before captaining them in the next edition.

It wasn’t until 2015, when the senior team were searching for a replacement for the suspended Saeed Ajmal, that Imad got his shot at international cricket. He spent the intervening period playing league cricket in England and Ireland, which he said was instrumental to his development. Adding to his connection to the UK, Imad was born in Swansea.

Also a factor in his rise up the ranks was his first-class experience – he struck a half-century for Islamabad on debut in 2007, took an eight-for in 2013 and clattered a maiden double-hundred in 2014. Imad made his T20I debut when cricket returned to Pakistan six years after the Lahore attack in 2009, and represented his country in the World T20 that followed in 2016.