Indian quick Jasprit Bumrah is one for the future. - AFP file
Dubai - The Sultan of Swing also said England's James Anderson is the complete bowler
By James Jose
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Published: Wed 13 May 2020, 7:52 PM
Last updated: Thu 14 May 2020, 3:40 PM
Pakistan's legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram reckoned that India's Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami as well as Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi would go on to have a great future and said that their goal should be to take 400 or more Test wickets. Akram, known as the 'Sultan of Swing' during his heydays,where he could move the ball both ways, also felt that England's James Anderson is the complete bowler at the moment, with many others waiting in the ranks to usurp his throne. "In Test matches, it is Anderson. He already has 500 wickets. True, his pace has dropped but he is still unplayable in England," Akram told former Indian opener Aakash Chopra in a long Facebook chat titled 'AakashVani: Let's talk cricket, featuring Wasim Akram Part 2, on Wednesday. "He swings the ball both ways and does it with the new ball. And he can reverse swing. So, I feel he's a complete bowler at the moment," added the former left-arm quick. Jimmy Anderson is currently the fourth highest wicket-taker in Tests with 584 wickets behind Sri Lankan ace Muttiah Muralitharan, Australian spin wizard Shane Warne and Indian leg spinner Anil Kumble. The 37-year-old is ahead of Australian line-and-length master Glenn McGrath. Akram, who snaffled 414 Test wickets in 104 matches and an astonishing 502 scalps in 356 ODIs, said that bowlers like India's Bumrah, Shami, Afridi, Australia's Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazelwood are the bunch of young fast men who will lead the line in the future. "As far as the future is concerned, Bumrah is there, Shami is there, there's Shaheen Shah Afridi from Pakistan, Pat Cummins from Australia, Mitchell Starc. I also like Hazelwood because his length is awkward. But I don't know how he would bowl on such wickets here but on wickets in Australia and England, he's quite dangerous. But their goal should be to get at least 400 Test wickets," felt Akram. In the freewheeling conversation, Akram, who struck a lethal partnership with pace twin Waqar Younis, also spoke on a variety of topics ranging from retirement, his mentor and coaching role in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Pakistan Super League (PSL), his advice to bowlers, what is ailing Pakistan cricket, comparison between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, Pakistan's Babar Azam, the pace battery emerging from Pakistan and the dearth of spinners in his country.
Excerpts:
On when to hang up your boots... It is definitely a difficult decision, no doubt. To retire from any sport, especially for a top player, it is tough. But there is a time for everything. For me, the Pakistan Cricket Board had made my life easy, decision making, they dropped me. You know, everyday was a pain. Going to the game, I wasn't enjoying it and I thought that's a sign. I spoke to my late wife who was in Pakistan with me. And she said that if your heart isn't there and if you are cursing yourself everyday, so it means it is time to go. So, I announced my retirement (in 2003). So, that was it." On the advice to bowlers while mentoring them in the IPL, PSL... That's a very valid question. Explaining it is really difficult and you're right, many people cannot do it. Even some of the greats of the game find it tough to explain. So, that is also an art. Depending on a young player's psychology, his mindset, you have to explain to him accordingly. You shouldn't give too much information. So, what I do is I tell them to ask the questions. I tell Shami to ask me, I tell Kuldeep (Yadav) the same thing. This is the scenario, what needs to be done. I've already been hit for two sixes and as a spinner, how do I make a comeback. I have to take wickets. In the T20s, my job as a bowler is to take wickets. I do speak to them about the bowling action and the length but mostly talk about how to fox a batsman. If, in a T20 game, if you have to bowl two of the last four overs, before you run into bowl a ball, you need to have three plans already...plan A, plan B and plan C. If the batsman moves, what do I have to do, if he crosses, what do I do, if he charges, what do I do. So, for all three, you need a plan on what I will do in each situation. If you go in with just one plan, chances are you will get hit. (Akram was the bowling consultant for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. He was the director and bowling coach at Islamabad United in the PSL, the same posts which he held at the Multan Sultans. He is currently the chairman and bowling coach of the Karachi Kings) On Pakistan's dip in international cricket before... Because whoever came to the cricket board, they came with short-term goals. During the chairman's tenure, they hoped for things to be good during that period. So, the first class structure was not set right. They continued doing what has been done over the past 30 years. So, this is one of the reasons. There is talent. First class cricket has changed but it will take three to four years to bore fruit. India did that. India put the IPL money into first-class cricket. When you put money on something, the results do come. If you don't put in the money in first-class as much, which India have done over the past 10 years, which I've seen the first-class structure, pay structure change, professionals came in, best physios in the world, best trainers, also retired Indian cricketers have now become good coaches, players also have individual coaches, which is the need of the hour. They are investing in the players. So, that's a good thinking by the Indian players that they are making the money but are also putting it back into their game. That's the big difference. On comparing Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli... He's (Kohli) the modern great. They are two different players altogether. He's very aggressive as a person, as a batsman, positive aggressive, controlled. Sachin was calm but yet aggressive, different body language both of them. So, as a bowler, you study body language. If I tried to sledge Sachin, he would become more determined. This is my take, I might be wrong. But if I did the same to Kohli, he would get angry. And if a batsman gets angry on you, he will attack you, and when he attacks, there are more chances of you getting him out. But as far as his technique is concerned, no doubt he's a nightmare for bowlers. Physically, he's supremely fit, he looks good, he enjoys his fielding and what a leader has to do, he does that. You can figure that out by watching him. You can't compare both of them. But I think Kohli will go places, he will break so many records. I don't know if he can break Sachin's record, he's getting there but there's still time for that. On Babar Azam being the next Javed Miandad or Zaheer Abbas of Pakistan... Yes because I've been working with him over the past two years in the PSL at Karachi Kings. I like his attitude, his way of doing things, his focus, he wants to be the best in the world and he knows how much hard work is required to be the best or to be compared to Kohli, Kane Williamson and all the top guns of the world. So, he's definitely there. He's the No.1 T20 player and he is in the top four in ODIs. He made a hundred in the Tests in Australia recently, he made 99, so, he's definitely getting there, no doubt. He's got the potential and I think he is very, very consistent and he's also a treat to watch. He's easy on the eyes. On the next big fast bowler from Pakistan... I like Shaheen Shah Afridi. The left-armer, he's six foot five, he swings the ball, he's got pace, he's young. Our fast bowling is actually improving now. The new boy Naseem Shah, who bowls at 150kmph, he's actually quick. On Pakistan spinners not being in the same class of Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Ahmed... We are struggling when it comes to spin. We have Yasir Shah who plays Tests, Shadab (Khan) is there in T20 and ODIs, but his calibre is not the same as Saqlain or Mushy, (Abdul) Qadir or Saeed Ajmal. So, we don't have a good off-spinner in the country. We have Bilal Asif but nobody picks him in the PSL. We are struggling when it comes to spinners and the PCB needs to have a look at it. james@khaleejtimes.com
Apex court asked the lawyers to provide a copy of the apology advertisements without enlarging them, emphasising they should not need a microscope to read it
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