Wasim Akram, former Pakistan captain and one of the greatest fast bowlers, has opened up about his rivalry with his former teammate Waqar Younis. Apart from their partnership on the ball, their rivalry also proved really fruitful for Pakistan.

Wasim and Waqar were great friends, but their loving friendship turned into a hostile dispute in the 1990s, and there was a time when the fast-bowling legends were not talking with each other both on and off the field, especially in 2007.

However, Wasim termed his rivalry with Waqar healthy and competitive as Pakistan cricket benefited a lot from it as they both wanted to outperform each other on the field.

Wasim Akram said on the 'To Be Honest' show by 'Nashpati Prime': “We had our differences. When you are 23-24 years old, it happens. But there was always healthy competition between us. We never used to think badly about each other. We wouldn't want the other to not pick wickets. In fact, if one used to pick five wickets, the other would say 'I too would want to get five'.”

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He further added, “And that happened too (against New Zealand). So there always was a healthy rivalry, but our moods would remain on and off. Sometimes it also happened because of teammates. Sometimes they would praise one, other times the other.”

Meanwhile, Shoaib Akhtar wrote about Wasim and Waqar’s fight in 1999 in his biography 'Controversially Yours'.

He had written: “We lost the Delhi Test and Wasim got into an argument with Waqar. It got so bad that a rumor started doing the rounds that Waqar was to be sent back home.”

Akhtar added, “But the entire squad left for Kolkata for the first Test of the Championship. Inside the dressing room, things got uglier. I do not remember it ever being as tense as it was then. The two seniors were at war and we were a young and fresh team. Everyone was stressed out.”