Former Pakistan captain Waqar Younis, who took 373 Test and 416 ODI wickets, was formally inducted into the PCB Hall of Fame when he received his commemorative cap and plaque during Wednesday’s play in the third cricket Test between Pakistan and Australia at the Gaddafi Stadium.

In Tests, Waqar took 50 or more wickets against New Zealand (70), Zimbabwe (62), Sri Lanka (56), West Indies (55) and England (50). In ODIs, he took 84 wickets against Sri Lanka, followed by New Zealand (79), West Indies (60), South Africa (58), India (37), England (30), Australia (29) and Zimbabwe (23).

Waqar played seven Tests at the Gaddafi Stadium and took 29 wickets with seven for 86 against New Zealand in October 1990 as his best. In 12 ODIs at this iconic venue, Waqar took 14 wickets with four for 26 against the Netherlands in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 1996 as his best figures.

For his meritorious services to Pakistan cricket, Waqar already has a stand dedicated in his name at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

At his induction into the PCB Hall of Fame, Waqar Younis said: “I feel honoured to have been inducted into the PCB Hall of Fame with my mother and wife standing alongside me. In fact, it was an honour to receive the beautiful plaque from my mother, who has been my inspiration throughout this highly rewarding and immensely satisfying cricketing journey. Without her blessings, I would not have been able to achieve this much as a professional.

“Playing for Pakistan was a dream come true and I still cherish every single moment of wearing the Pakistan colour. And to be awarded by the Pakistan Cricket Board with this honour 19 years after I last represented my country is just an icing on the cake, for which I am grateful to them.

“It is indeed a very proud moment for me to be placed in the same category as Abdul Qadir, Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram and Zaheer Abbas. These individuals are absolute legends of the game and their achievements and success stories are well documented.

“I would like to thank all the players I played with and against as well as all the support staff who contributed towards my accomplishments.”

The PCB Hall of Fame was launched in April 2021 following the Board of Governors approval at its 62^nd meeting with the sole objective being to honour and celebrate the achievements of some of the greatest cricketers produced by this proud country as well as to preserve Pakistan cricket history.

The initial inductees were six members of the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame – Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Zaheer Abbas. On 16 October 2021, the six stalwarts were joined by Abdul Qadir and Fazal Mahmood who were selected by an independent voting panel.

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Karachi, 19 March 2022:

Former captain Javed Miandad was formally inducted into the PCB Hall of Fame when Pakistan Cricket Board’s Chief Executive Faisal Hasnain presented him with a commemorative cap and plaque.

Javed Miandad: “I feel humbled and honoured to have been inducted into the PCB Hall of Fame. It is appropriate that these inductions are taking place when an international cricketer is at the helm of Pakistan cricket affairs as he understands better than anyone else the hard work and sacrifices a cricketer makes to reach to the top pedestal.

“Every time I stepped on to the field of play, I wanted to contribute for my team and country through my performance. To make this happen, I developed my own training and preparation plans using innovative methods visualising the oppositions and conditions I would encounter. I am delighted my efforts produced good results and I was able to serve my team and country with performances that made us a proud cricketing nation.

“One thing I did with great success throughout my career was to quickly forget my previous performance and switch focus towards the next challenge. Of course, I took learnings from the previous game into the next match and tried to improve, but I didn’t dwell on what I had achieved in the past matches.

“I was fortunate to always have had excellent and outstanding contemporaries who supported and encouraged me and I want to especially thank the people of Pakistan for their overwhelming support and love till date. This always remained my inspiration and motivation in the pursuit for excellence.”

Faisal Hasnain: “On behalf of the Pakistan Cricket Board, I want to congratulate Javed Miandad on his induction into the PCB Hall of Fame. This small gesture is a reward and recognition of his immense services towards Pakistan cricket and for providing unprecedented happiness to cricket fans all over the world.

“Whenever Javed Miandad batted, nothing seemed impossible. For his never-say-die approach, Miandad has left an everlasting impression on his fans and opponents who respect, admire and credit him for the way he constructed his career and played with dignity, pride and consistent performance.”

64-year-old Miandad was Pakistan cricket’s heartbeat from 1975-1996, during which he scored 16,213 international runs with 31 centuries in 357 matches. In a 402-match first-class career from 1973-74 to 1993-94, Miandad scored 28,663 runs at an average of over 53 with 80 centuries and 139 half-centuries.

Miandad played in the 1975 World Cup as an 18-year-0ld and then went to participate in five more World Cups, winning the 1992 event in Australia under Imran Khan. In 33 World Cup matches, Miandad scored 1,083 runs at an average of over 43.

Miandad scored a century (163) on Test debut in Lahore in the first Test against New Zealand in 1976 and then scored first of his six double-centuries (206) in the third Test in Karachi. In his 100^th Test in Lahore in 1989, Miandad scored 145 to become only the second batter (other being Gordon Greenidge) to score centuries in debut and 100^th Test.

Miandad scored over 1,000 Test runs against Australia (1,797 in 25 Tests), England (1,329 in 22 Tests), India (2,228 in 28 Tests) and New Zealand (1,919 in 18 Tests), while he scored over 1,000 ODI runs against Australia (1,019 in 35 matches), India (1,175 in 35 matches), Sri Lanka (1,141 in 35 matches) and West Indies (1,930 in 64 matches).

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1992 World Cup winner and former captain Wasim Akram, who took a total of 916 wickets and scored 6,615 runs in an international career from 1984 to 2003, was formally inducted into the PCB Hall of Fame on Sunday.

Sir Vivian Richards, one of the all-time greats and an ICC Cricket Hall of Famer, formally inducted Wasim Akram into the exclusive list by presenting him a commemorative cap and plaque before the start of 28^th match in the HBL Pakistan Super League between Karachi Kings and Quetta Gladiators.

Wasim Akram is one of the eight Pakistan stalwarts who are members of the PCB Hall of Fame. Others are Abdul Qadir, Fazal Mahmood, Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Waqar Younis and Zaheer Abbas, who will be formally inducted into the prestigious group in the coming days.

Wasim Akram: “I feel privileged to have received this great honour from Sir Vivian Richards, one of the most iconic figures in cricket, and at a venue that remained my home ground during my playing career. I also want to compliment the Pakistan Cricket Board for launching this initiative to recognise and acknowledge the contributions of former cricketers.

“It has been an honour to represent Pakistan over 18 years during which I played in 460 international matches. Every wicket and every run I scored in these matches was priceless. I can’t thank God Almighty enough for providing me the opportunity to serve this great country at the highest level.

“I want to thank all my fans who have been my greatest strengths. Their support has been invaluable. I also want to thank my family and friends who stood beside me during this incredible journey.”

Sir Vivian Richards: “I feel delighted to have been awarded the opportunity to formally induct Wasim Akram into the PCB Hall of Fame. My first encounter with Wasim Akram was in 1985 in Australia and in the twilight of my career, I was happy I would not be facing him much. I clearly remember telling my junior partner that he will cause a lot of problems for his generation of cricketers and Wasim proved me right.

“Wasim has been an outstanding cricketer and a great ambassador for our sport.”

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