Wasim Bari - Pakistan - Batsman

Wasim Bari was a wicket-keeper so fantastic that there were very few parallels in the contemporary world, let alone in Pakistan. In fact Alan Knott himself believed that Bari was a better keeper. Bari took 201 catches and 27 stumpings in Tests to go with 62 dismissals in ODIs. Always on his toes, he was known for his keen sense of anticipation and ability to glove the ball as clean as possible. In 1971 at Leeds, Bari claimed 8 catches in a Test match, which was a record at that time.

The Sind born stumper though was no fantastic batsman, he is more known as a useful batsman lower down the order. As it stands, Bari made 1366 runs in 81 Tests with 6 fifties, the pick of them being his 60 at Number 11, piecing a 133-run stand with Wasim Raja against West Indies at Barbados.

In 1997, Bari was conferred with the Life Achievement Award by the PCB. Later on, Bari served as PCB's Chief Operating Officer.

By Deivarayan Muthu