‘In The 90s, It was Ball Tampering, Now It Is…’: Wasim Akram Opens Up On Reverse Swing

Reverse swing is a revered art in international cricket, with very few fast bowlers having the skillset to master that art. In the 1990s, Pakistan’s pace duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis used the art to dominate several batting units, as the pair often attacked in tandem.

But then, the art was so lesser known that many experts reported it as ‘ball tampering’. In the Stick to Cricket podcast, Pakistan’s all-time great Wasim Akram opened up about the art of reverse swing and revealed the reservations that the entire world cricket had.

“In the 90s, nobody knew what reverse swing was. Apparently, it was ball tampering. And then suddenly everybody learnt it, so it became reverse swing, thank you very much,” Akram said on the Stick to Cricket podcast. 

So, how does a bowler ace the art of reverse swing? Akram revealed that it depends on multiple factors: weather, square, outfield, and how the ball is maintained. 

“It depends on the weather, depends on the square, depends how lush the square is, how lush the outfield is. The whole team has to be involved. If it’s reverse swing, if it’s rough side, this one and if one guy giving you one bounce throw, no, no, no, no, no. You got to throw the ball direct to the keeper, direct to the bowler, lesser hands that touch the ball, the better,” said Akram.

Interestingly, Akram also revealed that Mudassar Nazar, who now coaches in the UAE, was someone who helped some of the biggest Pakistani cricketers, like Imran Khan, on reverse swing. 

“HE [Mudassar Nazar] was the go-to guy even if Imran Khan or Javed Miandad wanted some advice on the field. He was the one who taught me and then Imran was the one who taught me [how to bowl reverse swing],” Akram said.