Daily Times

LAHORE: A little boy with a bowling action identical to swing legend Wasim Akram recently went viral, attracting attention of the ‘Swing ka Sultan’ himself as the kid’s video of bowling in his backyard made rounds on social media. The ‘unknown’ boy is no longer that mysterious kid bowling bullets at the wall. He is six-year-old Hasan Akhtar from Chichawatni district of Punjab, and he wants to be another Wasim when he grows up. He was interviewed in the backyard of his house in Chichawatni, where he bowls for hours at an end, trying to perfect his action. “I’ve been playing cricket ever since I started school, and my favourite cricketer is Wasim,” he said, when asked about who inspired him to play the sport.

Hasan bowls in his backyard for 3 to 4 hours daily, so he can bowl like his idol Wasim when he grows up. “It would be my good fortune if Wasim coaches me, I would love to be coached by him,” he said excitedly. Hasan’s parents encourage him to play cricket. His father, who is a farmer by profession, noticed his son’s passion for bowling from a very young age. Hasan’s bowling scares even the bigger and older players in his village. He is already a pace sensation in his neighbourhood.

Pakistan has a history of producing some of the most feared pacers on the planet. The country boasts a never-ending production belt of fast-bowling stars and the gift that keeps on giving may continue to do so as a remarkably young talent has emerged on the scene. Last the video of this kid bowling with a silky smooth left-arm action in a backyard has gone viral on Twitter – even the great Wasim could not help but notice the kid’s raw talent.

The video of the young boy was quickly circulated around the Pakistan cricket community – with fans marvelling at his ability to bowl with such control, pace and swing at such a remarkably young age. Soon after the video was uploaded on Twitter, Wasim tweeted: “Where is this boy??? We have serious talent flowing through the veins of our nation and no platform for these kids to be discovered. It’s time we do something about it.” While some saw a bit of Wasim in the kid, others likened him to Mohammad Amir.
It even prompted Akram’s wife Shaniera to comment, “Another Wasim Akram maybe?”

Published in Daily Times, March 4^th 2018.