In August 2018, he was one of thirty-three players to be awarded a central contract for the 2018–19 season by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).[2][3] In March 2019, he captained the Pakistan One Day International (ODI) team for the first time.[4] On 24 November 2023, he announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket.
Early and personal life
Wasim was born in Swansea, Wales.[5] His father briefly worked in the UK as an engineer.[6] Wasim's parents moved to Pakistan when he was at a very early age, and he consequently played all first-class cricket there.[7] He was studying medicine before his career in cricket, but quit when he got a chance to play for the under-19 Pakistan team.[8]
In March 2019, Wasim was named in Pakistan's ODI squad for their series against Australia.[13] Pakistan's captain Shoaib Malik was ruled out of the fourth ODI due to injury, with Wasim named as captain of the team in his place.[14]
The following month, he was named in Pakistan's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[15][16] He had a great tournament with both the ball and the bat as he scored 162 runs in 5 innings at an average of 54.00 and a healthy strike rate of 118.24 as well as chipping in with 2 wickets with an economy rate of 4.82 which was better than any Pakistani at the tournament.[17][18]
Haris Sohail was not initially in the squad, but was named as replacement for Umar Akmal. Rumman Raees was not initially in the squad, but was named as replacement for injured Wahab Riaz.
Asif Ali, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz were not initially in the squad, but were named as replacements for Abid Ali, Faheem Ashraf and Junaid Khan in the final squad.
