Wasim Raja: The lost gem!




Sitting in TV lounge discussing cricketing greats with my cousins and maternal uncles.  Once my maternal uncle  said that before Shahid Afridi there was a man who was as fearless as he is right now. He was the elder brother of Ramiz, Wasim Raja. This fascinated me a lot. I thought, once cricket that was known to be popular for test matches, where games were not really fast, there was a cricketer who was  popular for being a stroke player. Now as a curious young boy I started searching about him. Raja belonged to an upper middle class family. His father was a civil servant. His facial appearance was very different as compared to the other Pakistani players of that time. An intense looking man with a heavy beard, educated at the government college Lahore. Another factor that came forward was that he was not an easy going man. Wasim Raja was an introvert and moody.
In a fundraiser that was held for Shaukat Khanum memorial hospital , when Imran was asked that who was the most talented player he has ever seen. Skipper Khan smiled and looked towards Ramiz Raja, said his brother. Imran Khan also said in his book “All Round Review” that he never did justice to his talent.  His batting ability could be judged by the fact that he scored 919 runs in 11 test matches against the most  fierce fast bowling of his era that was of the West Indies. On a tour against India, Wasim Raja scored 500 runs however Pakistan lost the series 2-0. As a bowler he got 51 wickets in 57 test matches and in 54 ODI’s he got 21 wickets. Wasim Raja’s performance was pretty fine  when he played under the captaincy of Javed Miandad. However it was not easy to communicate with him. He was a loner and behaved freakishly. Amitabh Bachan who was known as an angry young man of India would be surprised to know that Raja was also known as an Angry Young Man. On a lighter note, Amitabh Bachan mentioned the name of Wasim Raja in his film Namak Halal.
Raja bid farewell to cricket in 1986. However when his younger brother Rameez Raja made a debut in Test cricket in 1984 he was much more in control of his behavior. Senior Raja was glad to see the younger one in the squad.  Many cricket fans and experts say that Rameez was not as good as Wasim, but he had an extremely stable personality and was a dependable batsman.
Wasim  Raja  moved to the United Kingdom and got a certificate in education from Durham University. He became a teacher there. Later on Wasim Raja became  coach of Pakistan cricket team. Shoaib Akhtar in his book “Controversially yours” says that he was  very strange in his behavior and used to lose his cool at regular intervals. 
However before ending this article I wanted a first hand account of someone who has actually seen Wasim Raja playing and actually has knowledge about cricket. Who better was then my maternal uncle who introduced me to him. In  evening after years we both sat again when he drove his car back from Islamabad  and discussed Wasim Raja again. He smiled and said so u did not forget him? I said No with a smile on my face. He said he was an extremely stylish left handed batsman who could bowl really well.  At that time he was extremely unique for team Pakistan.  According to him he was one of the best players he saw playing. As my uncle was the only man in our family who played first class cricket from Peshawar as a right arm off spinner in early 1980’s. I strongly value his opinion when he talks about cricket. He further mentions that he was an entertaining player and could handle fast bowling really well.
Wasim Raja died in 2006 while playing a friendly match for Surrey over-50 IX. He instantly collapsed. He was declared dead when he was taken to  the hospital. He was 54 only.


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