Wasim Bari

Wasim Bari (Urdu: وسیم باری‎; born 23 March 1948) is a former Pakistani international cricketer who played in 81 Test matches and 51 One Day Internationals from 1967 to 1984. Bari was a wicket-keeper and right-handed batsman. At the end of his 17-year career he was the most capped player in Pakistani Test history.

Wasim Bari

Personal information
Full name	Wasim Bari
Born	23 March 1948 Karachi, Sindh, Dominion of Pakistan
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm
Role	Wicket-keeper
International information
National side	Pakistan (1967–1984)
Test debut (cap 54)	27 July 1967 v England
Last Test	2 January 1984 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 10)	11 February 1973 v New Zealand
Last ODI	30 January 1984 v Australia
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI Matches 81 51 Runs scored 1366 971 Batting average 15.88 17.00 100s/50s 0/11 0/5 Top score 85 88 Balls bowled 8 – Wickets 0 – Bowling average – – 5 wickets in innings – – 10 wickets in match – – Best bowling – – Catches/stumpings 201/27 52/10
Source: ESPNCricinfo, 4 February 2017

His talent was first recognised in 1967 with members of the England under 25 team stating that he was the best keeper to come out of the South Asia. It was in England where he made his Test match debut, with Colin Milburn being his first dismissal. With the bat he managed 15.88 per innings in his career, including an innings of 60 not out at number 11, in which he helped score a last wicket partnership of 133 with Wasim Raja.

According to Tony Greig, commentator and former England captain, most people believe Alan Knott was the best wicket-keeper to have played the game in that era but Knott himself believed Bari was better than him.

In 1971 at Leeds, he equalled the then world record of 8 catches in a Test match. He was in the record books again in 1976/77 by stumping 4 batsmen in a Test, against the Australians. In 1979 against New Zealand he caught 7 of the first 8 batsmen, creating a world record for most dismissals in a Test innings. He finished his career with 228 Test victims, the most by a Pakistani and the most by a South Asian keeper at the time. Among South Asians, only M S Dhoni has more catches and stumpings in Test cricket.

Education

He was educated at the Cantonment Public School, Karachi.[1]

References

1. Heller, Richard; Oborne, Peter (2016). White on Green: A Portrait of Pakistan Cricket. Simon and Schuster. p. 185. ISBN 9781471156434.