Former Pakistani star fast bowler Wahab Riaz is celebrating his 39th birthday today. The pacer was a crucial part of the Pakistani team setup for 12 years before calling it a day in 2020. Riaz, despite retiring from the game, has not parted ways with cricket. He assumed the role of Pakistan National Cricket Team’s Chief Selector in November 2023.
The Lahore-born cricketer debuted for Pakistan in the 2008 tri-series against Bangladesh and India. In his first match against Bangladesh, he scalped three wickets and conceded 22 runs. Against India, he continued his good form and bagged two wickets.
Riaz made his Test debut for Pakistan against England in 2010. In the third Test of the series, he bowled an excellent spell to return the figures of 63/5 in his debut match. While Riaz did not have a very long red-ball career, he did well in the 27 games he played, picking 83 wickets at an economy of 3.42.
On the other hand, Riaz had a good stint with the Men in Green in white-ball cricket. He played 91 ODI matches while claiming 120 wickets at an economy of 5.7. In T2OIs, he represented Pakistan in 36 games, taking 34 wickets. His best run with the team in white-ball cricket came in the ODI World Cup 2015, where he impressed everyone with his pace.
While he had a slow start in the first two games of the tournament against West Indies and India, picking one wicket in each, he backed it up with a match-winning all-rounded performance against Zimbabwe. He scored 54 not-out with the bat and picked up a four-wicket haul with the ball.
His consistency in the tournament helped Pakistan reach the quarter-finals, which they lost to Australia. In the knockout game, Riaz’s aggressive clapping and a sarcastic flying kiss directed at Shane Watson drew a lot of criticism. In the seven matches that he played in the World Cup, Riz returned 16 wickets.