The making of Aleem Dar
One man's journey from average cricketer to outstanding umpire
03-Jan-2016
Aleem Dar tells the Dawn's Arslan Sheikh how he survived a young Wasim Akram's bowling before going on to become a top-class umpire.
"Wasim Akram was the first one who got selected for bowling and I was the first batsman to be picked," Dar says. "I came to Lahore from Gujranwala got admission in Islamia College and played from there," he adds. Akram would be selected by the Pakistan team soon after and go onto become arguably the greatest left-arm fast bowler in history. Dar continued to put in the hard yards on the local circuit but soon realised he couldn't cut it at the top level. "I really wanted to be a cricketer. I gave it my best shot," says Dar.