5 Former cricketers who would have been excellent IPL Stars

#3 Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram had the ability to execute the Yorkers to perfection

Wasim Akram had actually said jokingly that he would have prolonged his career by some years if he would have known about the invention of IPL!

However, keeping that aside, the Pakistani pacer could hypothetically been the best T20 player had this format existed during his playing days. Firstly, southpaw pacers always have an advantage in the early stages on an innings.

Add to it his prodigious and unparalleled ability to swing the ball both ways; Akram could have always given the team crucial wickets upfront.

More importantly, it was his insane talent to reverse swing the ball by a meter or two during the death overs that would have propelled him to greatness in this form of the game as well. Pacers these days tend to rely more on slower deliveries and cutters to deceive the batsmen in the final part of an innings.

However, these slower deliveries often become predictable for the batsmen and the bowlers are left short of options eventually due to their inability to execute the Yorkers to perfection. However, with Akram, that would never have been a problem.

He had the knack of deliveries fuller deliveries in the blockhole consistently and that was a wicket-taking option as well. He had an economy of 3.89 in ODIs, and one can actually bank on him to produce equally brilliant figures in T20s as well.

Moreover, the former Pakistani captain could strike some meaty blows with the bat and could have been handy at the number 7 position in the batting order.

Hence, his efficiency as probably a pace-bowling all-rounder would have made him a much-sought-after player in the T20 circuit.

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