Wasim Raja

Wasim Hasan Raja (Punjabi, Urdu: وسیم حسن راجہ) (3 July 1952 – 23 August 2006) was a Pakistani schoolteacher, match referee, cricket coach and cricketer who played in 57 Test matches and 54 One Day Internationals for the Pakistan national cricket team from 1973 to 1985. His younger brother, Ramiz Raja, also represented Pakistan in Tests and ODIs, becoming captain of the national side. Another younger, brother, Zaeem Raja, also played first-class cricket, as did his father, Raja Saleem Akhtar. During his playing career, Raja was known primarily as a dashing middle-order left-handed batsman, with a characteristically generous backlift and breathtaking strokeplay combining a keen eye with wristy execution. Raja also bowled flat wrist spin with his right hand that was good enough to take 51 wickets in Tests, with his scalps including Clive Lloyd, Roy Fredericks, Glenn Turner and Viv Richards. In all, he played in 250 first-class matches, scoring 11,434 runs at an average of 35.18, including 17 centuries, and taking 558 wickets at an average of 29.05.