Wasim Akram is regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers in the history of cricket. A former Pakistan cricket captain, he remains popular throughout the cricketing world and often commentates for world cricket events. He is considered to be one of the founders, and perhaps the finest exponent of, reverse swing bowling and is often referred to as the “Sultan of Swing”. In 2009, Akram was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. In October 2013, he was the only Pakistani cricketer to be named in a Wisden all-time Test World XI to mark the 150th anniversary of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. Gideon Haigh is an award-winning writer, described by The Guardian as 'the most gifted cricket essayist of his generation'.
<p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;">For twenty years, Wasim Akram let his cricket do the talking – with his electrifying left-arm pace, his explosive striking as a batsman, and his inspirational leadership. For another twenty years, he kept his own counsel about his cricketing days – full of drama, controversy and even mystery – in a country, Pakistan, that to outsiders is a constant enigma.</p><p style="margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">Sultan </em>tells the story of cricket’s greatest left-arm bowler, and one of its enduring survivors, who was chosen from the streets of Lahore and groomed by Imran Khan to become champion of the world – he was Man of the Match in the final of the 1992 World Cup which Pakistan won. Along the way were unforgettable rivalries with the legends of his time, from Viv Richards and Ian Botham to Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne. All of this against a backdrop of conspiracy and intrigue over ball tampering and match-fixing, about which Wasim finally sets the story straight.</p><p><div class="other-info" style="margin: 25px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif;"></div></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 6px 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); line-height: 24px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: "Open Sans", sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;"><em style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; background: transparent;">Sultan<span> </span></em>provides an unprecedented insight into the life – both on and off the field – of a cricketer who revolutionized the sport with his speed and swing, and a patriot buoyed and burdened by the expectations of one of the game’s most fanatical publics.</p>
