The fast and the furious: 5 Pakistan pacers every cricket fan misses

For decades now, fast bowling has been the Pakistan cricket team’s biggest trump card. With the likes of Umar Gul and Junaid Khan missing from Pakistan’s bowling line-up in the ongoing cricket World Cup, the team’s pace unit definitely lacks that lethal touch.

Though Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Khan and Wahab Riaz are trying to put up a good show, their lack of experience is proving costly to Pakistan’s World Cup 2015 campaign.

From reverse swinging yorkers to unplayable bouncers, here’s a look at 5 legendary Pakistan pacers every single cricket fanatic sorely misses.

1. Wasim Akram

One of the greatest left-arm bowlers of all time, Wasim Akram had it all. Be it pace, swing or bounce, this gifted bowler was every batsman’s nightmare. To date, he remains Pakistan’s leading Test and ODI wicket-taker.

2. Waqar Younis

This legendary bowler’s sheer pace made him one of the most destructive speedsters of his time.  His uncanny ability with reverse swing bagged him several bowled and leg-before dismissals. During the ’90s, his bowling partnership with Wasim Akram at the start and end of the innings was every opponent team’s nightmare.

3. Imran Khan

In the late ’70s and ’80s, Imran Khan was considered one of the most lethal bowlers in world cricket. Known for his magic with the new ball, this pacer bounced almost every batsman of his era. An inspiration to thousands of budding fast bowlers, Imran was also famous among the ladies.

4. Sarfraz Nawaz

One of the greatest bowlers Pakistan has ever produced, Sarfraz Nawaz did not have the pace of Waqar Younis or Imran Khan, but he had his own unique way of bowling with the new ball. Though vastly underrated, he is seen as an essential part of Pakistan’s emergence into world cricket in the ’70s.

5. Shoaib Akhtar

Despite several injuries, on his day, Shoaib Akhtar could terrorize the best of the best batsmen in world cricket. Lightening pace, that was his biggest weapon. But not just that, Akhtar had the ability to swing the new ball out and bring the old one back, leaving countless batsmen clueless.