Did you know: Leader with the cricket ball and the tennis, this player is a multitasking sportsman

Making a name for yourself in any sports is not everyone’s cup of tea. Then there is Aasif Karim, who shines in more sports than one. Can you Imagine someone captaining the national side in the Cricket World Cup, as well as the Davis Cup in Tennis? Karim did that for Kenya. 

Karim was born on December 15, 1963, in Mombasa. He followed his father’s shoes and stepped into tennis. 

Karim had an exceptional career in the sport. A scholar from the Palm Beach Community College, USA, he was a champion in men’s singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles at the age of just 16. Karim even represented Kenya in a Davis Cup tie against Egypt in 1988. He played two singles matches and one doubles rubber.

Karim then turned his attention to cricket, going on to play for Kenya in three World Cups. He had a reputation of being a handy lower-order batter, but mainly a front-line left-arm spin bowler. Karim's career is one of the most remarkable in cricket. He started with the wicket of Duncan Fletcher in his first ball in international cricket. 

Interestingly, after the 1999 World Cup in England, he retired from international cricket but, later, in 2003, he was persuaded to return to add experience to Kenya’s squad. His magnificent spell against mighty Australia almost won his side the match. Karim shocked Australia with figures of three wickets for seven runs. Later, Kenya managed to qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament and became the first non-Test playing nation to achieve the feat. 

His father Yusuf, was a Kenyan tennis legend and his uncle Pyarali and elder brother Aarif were excellent at it. The legacy continued as Karim’s son, Irfan too played cricket for Kenya. Karim remains only one of three players to have played in the Davis Cup as well as in international cricket. The two others to do so are India's Cotar Ramaswami and Ralph Legall of Trinidad (West Indies).

Karim ended his career with 27 wickets in 34 matches and an economy rate of 4.26. In the 1996 World Cup, he finished with an economy rate of 3.56, better than Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Anil Kumble.