A suave left-handed batsman with an eye-catching moustache, Wasim Raja, was one of the finest from the stables of Pakistan. He was an agile fieldsman and a handy leg-spinner to boot. Born in Multan, Wasim was the eldest of three cricketing sons. Rameez Raja represented Pakistan at the top level whilst Zaeem Raja played first-class cricket for Multan and Lahore.

Wasim tallied 3,600 runs and 72 wickets in 111 five- and one-day internationals between 1973 and 1985, his Test appearances yielding 2,821 runs at 36.16, with four centuries. While his batting carried the stamp of elegance, his bowling was under-rated. Raja also had a nifty googly up his sleeve, which hoodwinked the best in the business like Glenn Turner, Viv Richards and Clive Llyod. He progressed to the big stage after stacking up massive runs in age-group cricket.

However, as good a talent Wasim Raja was, he was unpredictable and brash.

Quite interestingly, Raja reserved his best for the West Indies. His average in 11 Tests against the then Caribbean bowling attack comprising, Malcom Marsh, Colin Croft and Andy Roberts was a whopping 57.43.

Post retirement, he enrolled himself into Durham University for a teaching degree. He later coached the Pakistan Under-19 team and served as an ICC match referee.

In a cruel quirk of fate, he died of a heart attack when he was playing for Surrey-Over 50's at Marlow in August 2006.

By Deivarayan Muthu