My issues with bowling legend Wasim Akram affected Pakistan cricket, says Waqar Younis

Pakistan bowling legend Waqar Younis has admitted that his strained relationship with fellow countryman Wasim Akram during their play days hurt Pakistan cricket. Akram and Younis were one of the most fearsome bowling pairs in cricket history, especially in the 1990s when they terrorised batting attacks with a combination of pace and swing.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Younis, who also coached the Pakistan cricket team, revealed that their issues were only restricted off the field and did not spill on to the field.

"I am really good friends with Wasim bhai, he has always been elder brother. He has always supported me and helped me on the field. Yeah we had issues. He didn't only have issues with me but we had issues in the team those days, which yes, if you ask me the truth, yes I do regret at times because you know it did not help Pakistan cricket."

The duo who played 61 Test matches together picked up a whooping 559 wickets between them. Younis attributed this haul to the sense of competitiveness between the two, with each wanting to win matches for their country.

"But then again if you look at it, we had issues off the field but when we walked on the field it was a different game altogether. We wanted to compete with each other, we wanted to take more wickets than the other one and I think in a way, it did help."

"But yeah, if you ask me that particular episode, yes, we all regret it because it shouldn't have happened. It was ugly those days but those days we were younger and we didn't know much, now we are probably wiser and we want to improve things. Yeah, you can say it was a regret."

In the 1990s Pakistan were one of the most difficult teams to face thanks to their brilliant bowling attack, which also consisted of seamer Aaqib Javed, spinners Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq.