Ex-Pakistan player Mohammad Asif alleges Waqar Younis used to cheat with ball to get reverse swing

LAHORE: Former Pakistan bowler Mohammad Asif has alleged that Waqar Younis used to cheat with the ball in order to get more reverse swing.

In an explosive revelation, Asif has also alleged that Waqar did not know how to bowl with the new ball, and he only developed that skill during the twilight phase of his career.

In an interview with Pakistan channel ARY News, Asif said: "Waqar Younis used to cheat with the ball to do reverse swing. He did not know how to bowl with the new ball in most of his career. He learned a bit about bowling with the new ball in the twilight phase of his career."

"People know Waqar as a master of reverse swing but he never developed a single bowler who could bowl a perfect reverse swing. These people are in coaching for the last 20 years but they never produced quality bowlers. They lack consistency in making combinations. We have quantity, not quality bowlers," he added.

Waqar Younis is currently the bowling coach of Pakistan's senior side. During his playing career, Waqar Younis finished with 373 wickets in Tests and 416 scalps in ODIs.

Younis had called time on his international career in 2003 and he is regarded as one of the finest bowlers to come out of Pakistan.

On the other hand, Asif's cricketing career came to a premature end in 2010 as he was found guilty in a spot-fixing scandal. He was found guilty of deliberately bowling no-balls during Pakistan's tour of England.

As a result, in 2011, the pacer was banned from the sport of cricket for seven years. Asif played 23 Tests, 38 ODIs, and 11 T20Is for Pakistan and the pacer managed to take 165 wickets across all formats.