Pakistan legend Wasim Akram praises his statue amid social flak
Legendary Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram has saluted the 'effort' of the artist who created a statue of him that has spawned scorn on social media for being far from the player's actual features.
'Lots of talk about my sculpture being erected at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad. Mine is definitely better than the tiger,' he said in a post on X on Thursday.
'It's the idea that matters. Credit to the creators, full marks for the effort and thanks to everyone involved.'The statue of Akram – one of the greatest left-arm fast bowlers to play the game – was installed outside the southwestern city of Hyderabad's Niaz Stadium in April, but was widely shared on social media in the past week.
Akram is shown bowling wearing the kit of the 1999 World Cup team, when Pakistan were runners-up at the tournament in England.
Nearby is a statue of a tiger.
Taking a jab at the other statue, Akram added, 'Mine is definitely better than the tiger's.'
One fan mocked the statue, saying, 'The only thing that looks real is the ball,' adding the face looked more like Hollywood hero Sylvester Stallone.
After being the centre of social media's ire for days, the affable Akram took to social media to praise the effort.
Niaz Stadium chief Shiraz Leghari told the AFP news agency that the artist 'did his best effort, but accepts it doesn't resemble [Akram] a hundred percent .'
Statues of cricket stars near stadiums are not uncommon; Australia has a history of placing statues of their iconic players outside their stadiums, while India unveiled one of master batter Sachin Tendulkar outside a stadium in Mumbai in 2023.
Akram is one of the country's most celebrated cricketers, having represented Pakistan in 104 Tests and 356 one-day internationals with 414 and 502 wickets respectively.
He was the leading wicket-taker in the 1992 World Cup when Pakistan claimed the trophy.
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