F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani Skipper Wasim Akram believes that pacer Mohammad Amir should be a part of the team’s World Cup plans saying being a senior he can guide the young bowlers.
The 54-year-old said that bowlers bowl in packs and it was important to have a senior bowler to guide the youngsters.
“I still think he should have a place in the Pakistan side. We have three white-ball World Cups in the coming years. I have been saying for a long time that bowlers come in packs. When you have a senior bowler in the pack, he can guide the young bowlers in pressure situations by talking with them.
They can have quite an impact by giving them confidence and providing them with options. When I had a senior bowler guiding me as a young bowler, I had Imran bhai and I would ask him before every ball. It gives you that added confidence when a senior bowler tells you to do something. I think that is also why Amir is so important,” cricketpakistan.com.pk quoted him as saying.
The former legendary pacer questioned why people had a problem with Amir’s Test retirement which was a decision that a player makes for himself.
“Amir should ask himself what his plans are for the future. He should ask himself what his personal goals are. He can get any league in the world. He is still one of the top bowlers in world T20 cricket. He has a ton of experience and he is still young. If he retired from Test cricket by the way, it was his problem. It was his decision. Why are we going against someone because he retired? A player knows about his own body, especially a bowler.
Test cricket is not easy.
If you haven’t played first-class cricket for five years, then your muscles aren’t used to bowling for that long. Amir should just play his cricket. There is no point to all of this. He said what he had to say and explained his point of view. Now he should just play cricket and enjoy his family life as well,” he said.
Akram further stressed the need for Pakistan to finalise their batting unit ahead of the major upcoming fixtures and praised wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan.
“My mindset is a little different. I believe that batsmen that are used to a position (opening) and have been playing at that position from the start as kids, playing them on a lower number is hard. I came across a Sohaib Maqsood interview the other day, he also said that it is hard for a top-order batsmen to play down the order. You don’t get a sense of the situation and need to score 20 runs off eight balls. These guys can’t hit from the first ball,” he said.
“Rizwan was a captain in a domestic T20 side, he started as an opener and performed well for Pakistan as well. But your batting order has been completely shuffled. Your opener is coming in at number three, the number three player is coming in at five, and so the combination has been scrambled.
This is why we are getting stuck on 140 to 150 runs. There is no consistency. We have some big matches coming up. There is a big series against England on the horizon. We should have had a stable top six batting lineup until now. We still don’t know who the top six are in Pakistan’s T20 lineup. We know four but not six,” he said.
Afridi is a great talent: Wasim Akram
Former Pakistani Skipper Wasim Akram believes pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was a great talent saying he would end up taking a lot of wickets for Pakistan.
The legendary former pacer praised the talent possessed by the young Shaheen and said that he will end up taking a lot of wickets for Pakistan.
“Shaheen Afridi is earning fame through his bowling. He swings the new ball at pace in both directions. He is tall and can generate bounce. He has a better sense of bowling and knows what length to bowl at. He has situational awareness while bowling. I think he is a great talent and going forward he will take a lot of wickets for Pakistan,” cricketpakistan.com.pk quoted him as saying.
Akram, also rubbished concerns regarding Shaheen getting burnt out from playing too much cricket. The 54-year-old believed that just because Australia was adopting rotation policy didn’t mean Pakistan had to follow suit. “I think he should be asked if he even needs rest. We can’t just copy the world that look Australia is resting its players so we should as well. Our culture is very different. Our mindset is very different,” Akram said.
“I still feel that if he keeps bowling and playing sensibly, it’s not like crazy cricket, he is just playing for Pakistan in all three formats. His bowling is getting stronger, he is gaining awareness and a sound mentality. He doesn’t play county cricket so for him this cricket is very important. Especially during these early years. I don’t think there is anything to this burnout issue. I think he is only going to get better,” he said.
Speaking about the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Akram who was also the Karachi Kings President said that he preferred to give local Pakistani players a chance rather than draft overseas players for the remaining matches of PSL season six.
He also believed that this was going to be like a new tournament because of the new environment and conditions on offer. “Ideally our performance should remain the same but it is humanly impossible. We were on top around three to four months back. That was when the PSL got postponed. This is now kind of a new tournament. It will be played in a new environment and new pitch. I think 20 matches will be played on one ground including the playoffs, if I am not mistaken. It will definitely impact the square eventually,” he said.
“It will also be hot. It is 40 today and I think it will be 45 or 46 [degree] during the day of dry heat. The teams will have to acclimatise. Not just Karachi Kings, but every player will have to acclimatise. Our player from New Zealand Martin Guptill is coming from a place that has winters right now. Imagine him coming from the winter weather into this intense heat so it will take some time to adjust,” he said.
