Mohammad Asif Says Waqar Younis Used To Cheat With The Ball To Do Reverse Swing

Former Pakistan seamer Mohammad Asif has made a shocking revelation about the national team’s bowling coach Waqar Younis. Mohammad Asif and Waqar Younis were amongst the greatest seam bowlers produced by Pakistan; however, the former’s career ended in an ugly manner as he got involved in spot-fixing in 2010. On the other hand, Waqar Younis retired as Pakistan’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test and ODIs.

Waqar Younis was amongst the finest fast bowlers produced by Pakistan and finished with 373 Test and 416 ODI wickets. While Sarfaraz Nawaz might have invented the art of reverse swing, Imran Khan took it forward and Waqar Younis carried it to make the batsmen’s life a nightmare. The retired speedster also captained Pakistan in both ODIs and Tests, notably during the 2003 World Cup.

Mohammad Asif revealed that Waqar Younis used to cheat with the ball to produce reverse swing and was clueless about bowling with the new ball for the most part of his career. Asif admitted that it was only during the twilight of Younis’ career that the 49-year old got some idea.

“He [Waqar] used to cheat with the ball to do reverse swing. He didn’t know how to bowl with the new ball in most of his career. He learned a bit about bowling a new ball in the twilight phase of his career,” Mohammad Asif told Ary News.

He never developed a single bowler who could bowl a perfect reverse swing: Mohammad Asif

Mohammad Asif criticized Waqar Younis since, as a master of reverse swing, he could not cultivate a bowler, who could deliver the perfect reverse swing. Asif acknowledged that Pakistan has abundant quality bowlers; however, they lack the ability in making combinations. The 38-year old believes that the plan of rotating the pool of eight fast bowlers with no strategy or direction needs to change.

“You know him as a master of reverse swing but he never developed a single bowler who could bowl a perfect reverse swing. These people are in coaching for the last 20 years but they never produced quality bowlers. They lack consistency in making combinations. We have quantity, not quality bowlers. There is a pool of eight pacers and they are being rotated with no plan. This approach needs to be changed,” he added further.

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