14 Facts about Wahab Riaz: The merciless pace merchant

On his day, Wahab Riaz can be terrifying and completely unplayable. He can be counted among the handful of international bowlers who can clock over 145 KPH almost regularly. His fury can be unbearable for the ones who have weakness against short pitched stuffs. A late bloomer at the international level, Riaz has managed to seal a permanent place in the Pakistan squad in the past few years and is currently enjoying a sort of purple patch in his career.

1.Born on:

Wahab Riaz was born on June 28, 1985,  in Lahore, Punjab

2. Roots:

Riaz belongs to a Gujjar family in Lahore but his forefathers belong to a village near Gujarat in Pakistan.

3. Education:

Wahab Riaz attended Aitchison College in Lahore and played cricket for his school team. After graduating from school, Riaz went on to complete an M.Sc in Biotechnology from The University of the Punjab.

4. A medium pacer turned pace demon:

In a chat with ESPNcricinfo, Wahab had revealed that he began as  fast bowler initially before he turned into a fast bowler under the guidance of Aaqib Javed.  “When I started I was really, really a medium-pace bowler, very slow. But Aaqib Javed worked on me. He always said, ‘If you don’t bowl fast, you can’t be a fast bowler.’ So he really pushed me, made me work hard for six, seven years and then I started to bowl fast.”

5. Under-19 team set-up:

In 2003-04, Wahab was a part of the Pakistan under-19 setup and also played the under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2004.

6. First class debut:

In January 2002, a 16-year-old Wahab made his First-Class debut for Lahore Whites against Peshawar. Wahab went wicketless in that game.

7. International call-up:

Wahab had a consistent outing in the 2007-08 domestic season where he took 68 wickets at 20.54 in 14 matches. This performance helped him gain earn his national call-up and he was selected to tour Zimbabwe in early 2008.

8. Wonderful test debut:

Wahab made his Test debut against England at The Oval in 2010 and announced his arrival with a spell of five for 63. By achieving this feat, he became the 9th Pakistani player to take five wickets on Test debut.

9. Misses out on taking a ‘Perfect 10’:

Wahab Riaz narrowly missed out on claiming the perfect 10 record by just one wicket during a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy game between Lahore Ravi and Lahore Shalimar in 2013. The left arm pacer recorded figures of 9 for 59. His nine-wicket haul included a hat-trick. He snapped Ahmed Shehzad, Adnan Akmal and Waqas Ahmed at the top. Wahab had accounted for all the wickets at the start before Aizaz Cheema dismissed Imran Ali and denied his a chance to create history. Wahab completed the spell by dismissing the last man Adnan Rasool.

10. The greatest spell of his career:

Wahab fiery spell against Australia during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 quarter-final at Adelaide is something no cricket fan will ever forget. Pakistan were defending a modest 214 and Wahab gave Australia a scare, dismissing David Warner and Michael Clarke in quick successions with short pitched stuff. He looked intimidating by all means and looked more dangerous every time Shane Watson faced him. Riaz was fully charged up bit and exchanged a verbal duel with Watson. The merciless looking fast bowler made everyone forget about the match and sit back watching his bullying Watson. Unfortunately, Watson took Australia to the victory but Wahab won hearts and even embraced Watson at the end of the game. Both men, however, had broken the laws of the game and were fined for exchanging unpleasant words.

11. Pakistan Super League:

Wahab Riaz was placed in the Platinium category of the Pakistan Super League and was bought by The Peshawar Zalmis for $140,000. He took 10 wickets in the 7 Group Stage Matches and helped his team reach the playoffs.

12. Loses his cool:

During a group stage match vs Quetta Gladiators in the inaugural PSL, Riaz had an exchange of words and a physical tussle conflict with fellow national teammate batsman Ahmed Shehzad. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) imposed a fine on both the players and issued an official warning to them.

13. Personal Life:

In 2013, Riaz married Zainab Choudhary, daughter of businessman Haji Shahid Choudhary in a traditional Pakistani ceremony. The couple has a daughter named Esha Riaz.

14. Nickname:

Wahab is fondly called ‘Vicky.’ His Twitter handle reads @WahabViki.