Waqar Younis names the toughest batsman he bowled to in his career

Former Pakistan bowling legend Waqar Younis is currently working with the Sylhet Sixers franchise as their mentor for the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) season. The veteran right-hander enjoyed a long and illustrious career and is heralded as one of the bowling greats by several pundits. Waqar registered 373 scalps in Test and 414 ODI wickets in his international career that spanned for 15years.

During an exclusive interview with Dhaka Tribune, Waqar opened up about his career, reverse swing expertise, his partnership with Wasim Akram, BPL 5 and Sylhet, among other topics. However, when asked who was the toughest batsmen he’d bowled, the 46-year-old failed to come up with a single name. His generation of cricketers witnessed a lot of good batsmen but Waqar picked out the ones who had been the most lethal with their willows.

He said, “On a given day, anybody can be dangerous. Brian Lara was a dangerous batsman. Sachin Tendulkar was one of them. Steve Waugh was a very tough batsman. Matthew Hayden was good, Ricky Ponting was good. I mean there were so many of them. In that era, we have seen a lot of great batsmen besides good bowlers. It was an era when we played good fighting cricket and really enjoyed it.”

Waqar along with Wasim Akram formed one of the most deadly bowling partnership

Waqar is heralded as the master of reverse swing and was known for his lethal swinging yorkers at the death. Popularly known as the ‘Sultan of Swing’, Waqar was capable of decimating any batting line-up with his unplayable toe-crushers on his day. He was the kind of bowler against whom a batsman needed a metal boot more than the helmet. Waqar along with Wasim Akram formed one of the most deadly fast bowling partnerships of all time. The duo was the architect of some of the most spectacular collapses in the 1990s and onwards.