Good, bad and the ultimate redemption’

Everyone, however, knows one thing as a fact; the 32-year-old all-rounder from Lahore is one of the most gifted players ever to play the game.

He has several reasons for wanting to shine in England over the coming weeks. Should he lead Pakistan to the trophy, he would emulate his mentor and former captain Imran Khan, the man who lifted the 1992 World Cup above his head.

"It’s true, I have emulated a lot of Imran’s feats and perhaps this will be the last and the most sought-after one," he says. "I learnt a lot from Imran. He was motivating, determined and committed to team’s cause and I did my best to acquire all those traits."

Both Imran and Wasim were dashing all-rounders whose gameswere founded on pace bowling. Wasim, a left-arm bowler and left-hand bat, proved the mirror image of his right-armed, right-handed role model.

As important, Wasim is seeking to erase the bad memories of 1996.

While 1992 saw him emerge as player of the tournament and man of the match in the World Cup final – he took 18 wickets overall, including three for 49 in the final against England and 33 runs off 19 balls – the next event proved a nightmare.

Pakistan lost the quarter-final to India, their traditional enemies, and Wasim, forced to pull out of the match with injury, was accused by his own furious fans of having betrayed the side. Some even suggested, without any evidence, that he had taken money not to play.

He ended the tournament in hiding as his home was pelted with stones."Being unfairly accused by my own people was just horrible. I have tried very hard to forget those days, but it’s not easy," he says.

Nothing, in fact, has run easily for Wasim in recent seasons.

Stripped of the Pakistancaptaincy over match-fixing allegations at the start of1998, he announced his retirement in September, saying he was the victim of a "conspiracy" by jealous officials and declaring he would not return until he had cleared his name. It could take two or three years, he said.

Within a matter of months, however, he was back as captain as Pakistan’s never-ending power struggles between board officials took a new twist and the side’s captaincy musical chairs was set in motion again.

Mystifyingly, all is sweetness and light again for Wasim, even if he remains under investigation. An official report into match-fixing is due out any time but most believe it will be delayed till after the World Cup.

For now, Wasim has swapped conspiracy theories for rallying cries. "We are one of the best teams in the world and if boys keep doing well, there is no point we can’t win the Cup," he says.

The only man to take more than 350 wickets in both Tests and one-dayers – Imran took 362 Test wickets and 182 in the one-dayers- he will play a key role if Pakistan, regarded as third favourites behind South Africa and Australia, are to win again.

The omens look good. Last season he led English county Lancashire to two one-day titles. More recently, he took hat-tricks in successive Tests against Sri Lanka as Pakistan won the inaugural Asian Test Championship, then won a one-day tri-nations tournament in India followed by another in Sharjah.