Wahab Riaz is one of Pakistan's up and coming rising stars. A left arm fast bowler who can crank up the pace to in excess of 90mph, he took a 5for in the World Cup semi final against India and has also performed well during the English County season for Kent. Wahab was rested along with Umar Gul for the ongoing series in Zimbabwe but is sure to be a key component of the Pakistan side in series against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and England. 26 year old Wahab has played for Pakistan in 26 matches having made his debut in February 2008 and is expected to lead the bowling attack in the coming years in all formats. His performances have also seen him on the shortlist for the ICC award of best upcoming cricketer. Here we present an exclusive interview with Wahab.
by Nimra Ishtihaq and Nasser Khan (11 September 2011)
PakPassion.Net: Let?s begin by discussing your experience with Kent this season. How do you feel your stint at Kent went?
Wahab Riaz: I had a very good experience playing for Kent. Competing in County cricket is very different from our own domestic and international forms of cricket. Secondly, after playing with [and against] some big names here, I have gained a lot of experience. What stands out is that the people at Kent were very supportive.
PakPassion.Net: Do you feel that your stint in English County cricket has benefited you as a player?
Wahab Riaz: Yes, you can say that your skills surely progress in County cricket because most of the time, we play a lot on subcontinent pitches and those conditions are of course very different from English ones.
After playing for Kent, with respect to the English conditions, you learn that one has to bowl differently everyday, and you have to adjust relative to the wicket and match situation. All in all, County cricket was a really good experience.
PakPassion.Net: Are there any English fast bowlers who impressed you?
Wahab Riaz: In terms of English fast bowlers, from what I have seen, Surrey seems to have a lot of potential talent. From their team, Jade Dernbach definitely stands out. Also, David Balcombe who was a team mate of mine appears to be a good fast bowling prospect.
PakPassion.Net: Any other cricketers in County cricket, who impressed you?
Wahab Riaz: There are quite a few players who impressed me. For instance, there is the young all rounder Zafar Ansari from Surrey. In terms of other impressive players, Martin van Jaarsveld, James Tredwell, and Darren Stevens are some of the notable names at Kent who really impressed me.
PakPassion.Net: Many cricket followers think that you also have some batting ability. Do you think you can become a genuine all-rounder in future?
Wahab Riaz: Definitely. In order to become an all-rounder, I feel I have the ability and can contribute with the bat. At this point though, I still need to focus a little bit more when batting and improve my concentration. I have been working hard to improve. Also, concerning my batting, the coaches at Kent have helped me a lot so when I play for Pakistan next time around, I will be a different batsman.
PakPassion.Net: You have come up against some of the world's best batsmen. Who do you rate as the best?
Wahab Riaz: It's difficult to single out one batsman. From Australia, I would have to say Ricky Ponting. From India, of course Sachin Tendulkar is a great batsman and then there are also Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. All are great batsmen.
PakPassion.Net: Wasim Akram and some other commentators have mentioned your wrist position when bowling and they have mentioned that because of it, you will find it difficult to bring the ball back into the right handers. They say that you will continue to have difficulty with the inswinger. What are your thoughts on this?
Wahab Riaz: First of all, if you look at bowlers from around the world, you will notice that they all have some kind of a specialty in their bowling. I do try my best to bowl inswing and to an extent, I am able to execute this delivery. Nowadays, I have been reverse-swinging the ball quite well too.
If you look at my wrist position, you will notice that it is naturally inclined towards outswing. So if I now try to change things too much given my natural inclination, then the basics which have allowed me to perform well thus far [and hopefully in the future], might get affected.
That said, a bowler definitely needs to have a lot of variety and if you look at my performance, you will observe that previously, I didn?t bowl too many inswinging yorkers. After playing in the current season though, I can now bowl this delivery much more regularly. While in the past I was focussing on the outswinging yorkers just outside the off-stump; now, I am also bowling inswinging yorkers more often with ease.
Therefore, I guess what one can say is that with time, these things keep on developing and I will keep developing my bowling.
Currently, I am in a good phase as I have talked to Wasim Akram too and he has helped me a lot. I obviously can?t develop deliveries and skills in just one month because for so many years, I have been bowling to my strength and sticking to basics. I know that people want to see the inswinger more often and God Willing, this will happen. They [the fans] will have to wait just a little while longer.
PakPassion.Net: What advice have Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram given to you?
Wahab Riaz: Waqar has supported me a lot. He's always been very helpful and told me that whatever your basics are, try to bowl in relation to this and other things will come with time. Also, Wasim told me that when my inswinger develops further, I will become a very different bowler to what I am at the moment.
That's why, I have been working very hard to develop the inswinging delivery and it is coming along. While it will take some time to perfect, I know that once it is perfected I will become a better all round bowler.
PakPassion.Net: Previously, you were bowling around 85 mph and now you are reaching 90 mph quite comfortably. What changes did you make to achieve these greater speeds?
Wahab Riaz: I concentrate hard on my strength and fitness levels. Furthermore, I have been working very hard and trying my best to bowl fast and bowl well. Thanks to Allah, I have built up my strength and have also developed myself in this regards.
While previously I was fast, now, in English County cricket this season, I have touched 93-94 mph quite regularly [in the T20 format]. I always take care of my fitness and give it my full attention and that I believe is the main reason for the extra pace nowadays.
PakPassion.Net: There are some bowlers who prefer the new ball, and others who prefer bowling with the older ball. Are you more comfortable with the new ball, or at first change?
Wahab Riaz: So far, I have mostly been bowling at first change so I normally do prefer this role. However I feel that I can make an impact with the new ball and will now prefer to bowl with the new ball more often.
PakPassion.Net: You are being rested for the ongoing tour of Zimbabwe. I'm sure like other cricketers you would much rather be playing, but what do you make of the opportunity to gain some rest prior to some tough series against Sri Lanka and England?
Wahab Riaz: In terms of who gets a rest, this is up to the PCB and of course, whatever the PCB decides, we will have to follow those decisions. Because I am being rested, I can definitely utilize this to my advantage. My performance for Kent has been great this season and because I have been given a rest, I will now focus on my fitness and try to fix some of the faults and flaws that I do have.
This is important because the upcoming fixtures after the Zimbabwe tour-and with all due respect to them-will provide a tougher challenge. Accordingly, I will think about these future games during my rest; and will also focus on my bowling, practice and fitness as part of the rest period. It's very important to ensure that I make full use of the rest period and use it to my advantage.
PakPassion.Net: Two years ago, you went on a tour to play against Australia "A" where you came up against some very high quality opponents. What did you learn from that tour down under and how do you think it has helped you in your development?
Wahab Riaz: In my opinion, that tour of Australia brought the biggest change and improvement in my cricket.
In the past, we weren?t playing [a lot] against the stronger teams so when we got to Australia, there were players like Cameron White, Tim Paine, David Warner, Shaun Tait and Doug Bollinger playing against us. Also, at that time, I wasn?t a part of our senior team and therefore, I wanted to do something that would help me get noticed and selected for the Pakistani side.
The great thing about that tour was that we were playing against a talented side. As a result, we also had to ensure that we were performing at a higher level and giving it our best. The thing is, when you are competing against a good side, you have to be more disciplined and you also learn to experiment a little bit. Personally, after playing against a strong opposition like Australia "A" in their conditions, I started to gain more confidence. I remember that in the very first innings I was able to grab 5 wickets against them. Consequently, the confidence I gained from that achievement, I never let go of it and have never looked back.
Since we knew that we would be up against Australian players [and because they are known for playing well], there was some apprehension that the opposition would be hitting us out of the park [especially because they were playing in home conditions]. This is when I realized that I would have to perform well. Thankfully, that phase ended up being very beneficial because the cricket I played during that tour now helps me perform to my abilities.
We should have more matches against teams like South Africa and Australia at all levels because when you play cricket against other teams your confidence is already at a high having played against Australia and South Africa. Therefore, when you face opposition like Australia, this further adds to your self-belief because you know you are performing well against a good side and playing against these top sides really helps your confidence and self belief and prepares you for international cricket.
PakPassion.Net: Do you agree that it is very important for the Pakistan Cricket Board to organise tours to Australia and South Africa at all levels, including Under 15s, Under 19s as well as Pakistan "A"?
Wahab Riaz: Exactly. It is very important because those teams [South Africa and Australia] are skilful and successful. They play tough cricket and one can learn so much from tours to those countries as conditions are so alien compared to the sub continent. Playing and performing against them (Australia and South Africa) is a real confidence booster for any player.
PakPassion.Net: Moving onto the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Pakistan?s semi-final against India was of course a huge match. You picked up 5 wickets, but unfortunately, Pakistan lost the match. Tell us a bit more about that day ? you must have been pleased with your personal performance but your team lost at the same time. It must have been a day of mixed emotions for you?
Wahab Riaz: It was a very big match ? it was a pressure game. They had opted to play me instead of Shoaib Akhtar. Pakistan versus India is always a very big match. I performed well ? thanks to the Almighty. But I was hurt and disappointed that my performance could not win the game for us. I would have been extremely happy had Pakistan won that semi-final. Yes I was happy that I did well and bowled well that day, but the happiness would have been at an altogether different level had the team won. Nevertheless, it was all because of Allah that I was able to perform well on that day.
PakPassion.Net: It must have been a great feeling when you dismissed Yuvraj Singh on the first ball?
Wahab Riaz: Absolutely. I remember watching the Indian television channels talking about Yuvraj Singh prior to the match, as he was India?s main player and was performing well at that time. I was sitting watching the television with a few other players and I said to my team mates ?If Yuvraj faces me on his first ball, I?m going to get him out on that very ball.
Then during the match when Kohli was out, Shahid Afridi approached me and said to me Yuvraj is in now, what are you going to do? I said I wanted to bowl a yorker straight away. But Shahid asked me to bowl a length ball so he [Yuvraj] would get out in the slips. However, I urged Shahid to let me bowl the yorker regardless of the consequences. I was prepared to be hit for a six or four, but I really wanted to bowl a yorker to him first up. Misbah was standing close by, so he also suggested to Shahid to let me bowl the yorker. So Shahid agreed and said alright bowl the yorker.
In the end, by the grace of God, I was able to do what I had said a couple of days before the match. I bowled him out on the first ball ? it was definitely a joyous moment.
PakPassion.Net: Yuvraj's high backlift must have been the reason why you wanted to bowl the yorker?.
Wahab Riaz: Absolutely. The ball was reversing at that time and I was bowling in good rhythm. I was confident I would beat him with my pace. Thankfully, I succeeded and bowled him out first ball.
PakPassion.Net: That match must have lingered in your memory for quite some time. How long did it take for you to get over it?
Wahab Riaz: My personal performance was a significant one. However, I believe you cannot succeed if you feel satisfied and sit back after you set and achieve a particular aim. As soon as the World Cup ended I stopped thinking that I had dismissed Yuvraj Singh or that I had performed well in the semi-final.
After that, when I went to the West Indies, I didn?t think about my past performances at all. I told myself to forget the past and concentrate on the future. You cannot become a great bowler on the back of one or two good performances ? you have to perform everywhere every time. Yes, there are times when you?re unable to do so. But to be a great bowler, you?ve got to perform well consistently. It was good for me that we had the West Indian tour after the World Cup. I played the One Day series and topped the bowling charts for Pakistan.
PakPassion.Net: A lot of bowlers these days are only concentrating on Twenty20 and One Day cricket. Do you think you can play all three formats for a long period?
Wahab Riaz: Absolutely. It depends on how fit you keep yourself. It depends on your fitness level and your determination ? what you want to do. Twenty20 and One Day cricket is basically entertainment cricket, for players who want to play less so they can play for a long time. But in my view, Test cricket is the real deal. May Allah give me the strength and courage to play for a long time. I?m working hard on my fitness and God-willing I will try my best to represent Pakistan in all formats for a long time.
PakPassion.Net: Bowlers tend to set certain targets for them. For instance, there are bowlers who aim to take 200 Test wickets or 500 career-wickets. Do you have such a target in your mind ? or are you one of those who don?t really think much about such targets?
Wahab Riaz: As far as wickets are concerned, obviously my aim is to take wickets whenever I play. However, my main target is that I want the world to remember my name even after I give up cricket ? just like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar. I want my name to be remembered like them long after I have retired. I?m not playing cricket just to play a little, do well and finish off ? I?m playing cricket because I want to make a name for myself and for my country. I want people to remember me always.
PakPassion.Net: Moving on to a few non-cricket related questions and as per the many requests we have received to ask you this and of course your interraction with fans on Twitter ? what is your favourite milkshake flavour?
Wahab Riaz: [laughs] All flavours are my favourite. I?m fond of chocolate, ice-cream and banana flavours.
PakPassion.Net: We?ve heard that you are playing snooker a lot these days. What is your highest break?
Wahab Riaz: There?s no break or anything as such. Anything I pot is purely a fluke. I end up losing when I?m not so lucky. [laughs]
PakPassion.Net: Finally, you have become a very popular cricketer amongst fans around the world. Would you like to give any message to the fans?
Wahab Riaz: Well, I think people should try to control their emotions a little bit. They have high expectations from us but I think they need to understand that this is cricket ? sometimes you perform well, sometimes you don?t. However, whenever you take the field, you do so for Pakistan and you try your best to do well for Pakistan.
But this is cricket ? sometimes you do well. At other times, you don?t. I think our people are bit too emotional ? they tend to criticize heavily after only one or two bad performances. They should support us as we put our maximum efforts every time. The rest is up to Allah. We try our level best, so I just want to ask the people to be patient and to control their emotions.
