The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Out of arena, yet no stopping Akram's deadly yorkers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 07, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Out of arena, yet no stopping Akram's deadly yorkers

Staff Reporter

Former bowling great plays it straight on Pakistani cricket, Indo-Pak Test series

MOMENT TO CHERISH: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram with diabetic children after felicitating them at a function in Hyderabad on Tuesday. - Photo: Mohd. Yousuf

HYDERABAD: "I am happy that there is only one captain and one coach for the Pakistan team. And I am not surprised by their brilliant performances against England."

Well, this remark came from former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram during an informal chat with mediapersons on a private visit to the city on Tuesday night.

Referring to Pakistan's impressive Test series win against England on home soil last week, Akram reminded there were days when for 11 players there were 15 captains and 10 coaches.

`Irfan is all talent'

"It is good that Inzamam has settled down in the job pretty well and is leading from the front. I am also glad that Shoaib Akthar is bowling to his potential," he said to a query.

Commenting on Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan, the Pakistani great virtually pleaded not to make any comparisons of Baroda cricketer with any former or current cricketer.

"This is the problem with our culture. We tend to rate our cricketers as the best just after a couple of brilliant performances. This goes to their heads and there will be a slump in their performances," he remarked.

"Let us realise that Irfan is young and talented and has a long way to go. I am definitely impressed with his consistency of late," Akram explained.

On the Indo-Lanka Test series, Akram advised big guns of Indian batting to play their natural game and not be subdued. "This is going to be a wonderful and different battle when compared to the One-Dayers."

Questioned whether he seemed to be more interested in Indian cricket than the game about back home, Akram said his job (he is on a contract with a private sports TV channel) merits him to be fully versed with Indian cricket.

"In fact, let me repeat here that I am not the one to stand outside the gates of the Pakistan Cricket Board to apply for the job of a cricket coach. They suggested to me to complete Level I and II courses to be a qualified coach. I felt having played international cricket for so long, I don't need such a course to prove my credentials," he retorted.

Calls for gap in series

The great all-rounder felt that there should be adequate gap between Indo-Pak series to sustain interest. "Let me tell you that the battle between us is much more greater than the Ashes. There, players can relax after the series attributing the losses to stroke of bad luck. Here, we have to bear the brunt for any losses. I remember being escorted right up to my residence after a loss to India. So is the case with Indian cricketers. Such is the pressure," he explained.

"We tend to overdo every thing. Earlier, we did not play for over 10 years. Now, we are almost getting bored of watching Indo-Pak series because of its frequency," he quipped.

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