India must fight fire with fire, advises Wasim Akram

Former Pakistani captain and legendary pacer, Wasim Akram, has advised Team India to be confident of their skills which are equivalent to those of Australia and turn up hard against the opponents in the 2nd Test of the ongoing 4-match series. Akram claims that the Men in Blue have the potential to pay back the Aussies with the same coin, provided they stick to their game instead of feeling gloomy after the first defeat. He further said that the Indian squad has experienced and talented players who can fight for their life if need be, provided they are up for it. The ex-speedster is not ready to admit that India’s pace attack is weaker than that of Australia, arguing that the Blue bowlers like Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav are capable enough to give a tough time to the Oz batters.

In his column for Espnstar, the pace king wrote, “India have the experience and the talent to counter Australia and I am not willing to write Dhoni and his team off going into the Sydney Test. The Sydney wicket will definitely seam and swing in the first two days. India must be prepared for this and believe their pace attack is equally promising. India must fight fire by fire and they have the arsenal.” Akram has urged the Indian skipper, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, to perk up his captaincy techniques and lead the side by example, averring that the captain possesses immense intelligence, but he needs to work on his batting skills. The legend went on to write, “While Dhoni must sharpen his captaincy skills, I would like to see a proactive skipper who leads by example.” The best left-arm pacer of all times, who was present in the commentary box during the first Test match at Melbourne Cricket Ground, has expressed deep disappointment on the poor batting performances by Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli, provoking the duo not to repeat it in the second match that is scheduled to start from January 3 at Sydney Cricket Ground. Wasim ruled the world of cricket with his matchless bowling action for at least 18 years, grabbing 414 Test and 502 ODI wickets. He equally contributed with the bat too.

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Shahid Afridi: Pakistan Cricket's only superstar

There are certain names that fill stadiums, grab all the headlines and have fans and neutrals alike the world over, who stop what they’re doing and switch on their televisions. Those names belong to players, who have worked their way, to superstar status. In the past people would rush to catch a glimpse of Sir Donald Bradman, Sir Vivian Richards, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan and Wasim Akram, even if they were on the opposing team. Fans of the game remember them even to this very day. In the modern game there are plenty of superstars as well. The explosive rebel, Chris Gayle, the Australian pair of, Brett Lee, and, Shane Watson, Hashim Amla, and, Dale Steyn of South Africa, half the Indian team from Yuvraj Singh to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar to Virender Sehwag. Yet Pakistan, once renowned for having an abundance of superstars, seems to have fallen behind. Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Inzamam-ul-Haq – the list of past superstars goes on and on, but how many can one name in the present Pakistan squad? Would people go or even bother changing the channel to watch Mohammad Hafeez? Or maybe watch Asad Shafiq? Even the more well known names fail to raise excitement levels. Saeed Ajmal, who although is a consistent wicket taker, does not carry with him the flair and flamboyance that can pull the masses in, and one can only groan in agony anytime the painfully slow, Misbah-ul-Haq, makes his way to the crease. Yes, there is Pakistan’s wicket keeper, Kamran Akmal, though the player is famous for the wrong reasons. Dropped catches and missed chances do not bring the type of attention one wishes. Contrast that with West Indies batsman, Chris Gayle, and his recent demolition of opposition bowlers in the Indian Premier League. Whether one was a fan or not, the cricketing world would stop and proceed to watch the batsman. Why? Because he was exciting, because he was special and most importantly because he gave the fans what they wanted to see. Long gone are the days Shoaib Akhtar would storm in to bowl deliveries that flew at the batsmen at over 140 kilometres per hour, or when Wasim Akram would create unreal swing. The only name that still gets fans interested in Pakistan cricket is their talismanic One Day International captain, Shahid Khan Afridi. His exploits in the recently concluded ICC World Cup was the pinnacle in his, how to put this, exhilarating professional career. Scoring the fastest century in cricketing history on his debut, Afridi never compromised on his attacking batting, be it for better or for worse. It made him a household name not only in Pakistan but anywhere the game of cricket was played. Afridi’s aggression, ability to turn games on its head earlier with the bat and more recently with the ball, have not only propelled him to international stardom but also has fans pause just for a second to check if Afridi is on the crease or not. In Pakistan, when Afridi gets dismissed so does 25% of the crowd. It is not all doom and gloom though, as the Cornered Tigers are producing two more potential superstars, Wahab Riaz, and, Umar Akmal. Akmal unlike his brother is an exciting prospect, while the verdict on Wahab is still out after limited performances for the side. Yet if anyone was asked to make a fantasy team consisting of the best players in the world, one can safely say that Shahid Afridi would be the only Pakistan player on the roster and that is why he is Pakistan’s only superstar.

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ADAM GILCHRIST CITES DUNCAN FLETCHER’S VAST COACHING EXPERIENCE AS ADVANTAGE FOR INDIA

Former Australian wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist has said that newly-appointed, Duncan Fletcher’s huge coaching experience will work as an additional advantage for the Indian side when they compete England later this year.

Wishing the former Zimbabwean captain best of luck for his term as a coach with the World Champions, the former Aussie opener stated that Fletcher holds extraordinary coaching skills.

"He has obviously got great skills as coach and all the players from his previous teams seem to be supporting him and saying it's a pretty good appointment. So I wish him all the best," Gilchrist said.

Gilchrist, however, avoided to respond to the question that whether Fletcher will be able to replicate the success he accomplished as England team’s coach.

After Gary Kirsten's exit, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed Fletcher as Indian national coach for the next two years.

The decision has started a controversial debate about the suitability of a foreign coach for India. The legends like Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar slammed BCCI for appointing a foreign coach while the cricket maestros such as Wasim Akramand Nasser Hussain have been appreciating the decision.

Although, Duncan has never played Test cricket, he is credited of lifting English team to their historic 2005 Ashes series triumph.

Fletcher, who will not be able to join the Men in Blue in their upcoming tour to Zimbabwe because of his personal commitments. However he will with the team when India locks it horns with England later this year.

Gilchrist, who is leading Kings XI Punjab in the ongoing Indian Premier League, uttered that Fletcher was the best choice for the post as he holds a lot of coaching experience under his belt.

When asked to comment on the appointment of a 62-year old coach, Gilchrist stated, "I won't pass comments on his age. It's more what skill he brings and the level of enthusiasm. He had all that in abundance when he was coaching other teams."

Kings XI Punjab’s skipper further described that Fletcher has huge expectations to meet as Gary Kirsten left the Indian side after taking it to the peak of International cricket.

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Pakistan's Wasim Akram backs Duncan Fletcher as the new Indian coach

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has come out in support of the newly appointed Indian coach Duncan Fletcher and said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had taken a good step by choosing the former Zimbabwean captain as the new coach of the Indian team.

The BCCI announced this week that Fletcher would be the one to replace Gary Kirsten, who decided to call it quits after the successful World Cup campaign.

Akram, who is widely regarded as the best left-arm fast bowler in the history of the game, said that Fletcher was the best choice after Kirsten primarily because of his experience of coaching at the highest level of the game.

He said that his former team-mate and new ball partner, Waqar Younis had played under the coaching of Fletcher in county cricket, and expressed that Younis used to applaud the coaching abilities of Fletcher.

He said, "After Gary Kirsten, Fletcher is the best man to be India’s mentor. Fletcher is very experienced and has vast knowledge. Waqar (Younis), who played in Glamorgan when Fletcher was coach, praised his coaching skills a lot."

The appointment of Fletcher has been widely criticised in India as former greats Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar wanted an Indian to take over the job. However, Akram believes that it is always good to have a foreign coach for sub-continental teams, as they do not involve themselves into the internal politics of the team which is usually the case with Indian and Pakistani teams.

India are scheduled to tour England later this year and Wasim believes that Fletcher’s experience of coaching the English team will be extremely useful for India. The former left-arm fast bowler thinks that it will be tough for India to beat England on their home soil but Fletcher’s services would be handy there.

Akram told reporters, "Fletcher has done plenty of coaching in England, and he knows their players very well. Beating England at their backyard will be tough but Fletcher’s presence in the Indian dressing room will be a huge advantage."

There is a lot of talk in the media about the world champions' new coach but only time will tell what Fletcher has to offer to Indian cricket.

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YOUNIS KHAN PLAY CRICKET AFTER BEING DROPPED FROM WEST INDIES TOUR

Pakistan’s former skipper, Younis Khan, has vowed to continue his international cricket career despite being refused a spot from the One-Day series in West Indies.

Breaking his silence for the first time after the ICC World Cup 2011, Younis made it clear that he is not frustrated or upset at being sidelined for the five-match series, starting from April 23, 2011. "No, I am neither angry nor upset. This is part of a professional cricketer`s life. It is now up to the new players picked for the series to perform and prove they can replace the seniors," Younis said.

Although, the former captain had been refraining from interacting with the media since his return from the mega event, there were some rumours circulating that he had demanded money for giving an interview. However, Younis clarified that since stepping down from captaincy, he had decided not to speak much and just enjoy his game.

The former skipper put it in simple words that when he was captain of the side, he used to interact a lot with the media. Since he has left the responsibility, it is not necessary to talk to reporters.

Younis further expressed that it was good to see the media reacting positively after Pakistan’s World Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of arch-rival India. The middle-order batsman, who has 67 Tests and 221 One-Day caps to his credit, explained that the Pakistan team’s captaincy is an extremely difficult job. He admitted that it becomes tough for a captain to survive when groups and cliques within the team stand up against him.

Sharing his experience as captain of the Pakistan side, Younis stated, "When I was captain I remember telling that there was too much pressure on the person who captained Pakistan and this was not fair on him. I had also reminded that if this trend of criticising every decision of the captain or performance of the team continued then there will come a time when no one would like to captain the national team.”

After an ordinary performance in the World Cup, Younis has been dropped from the international squad. The legendary fast bowler, Wasim Akram, along with Pakistan’s limited-over skipper, Shahid Afridi, has already expressed that the veteran Younis Khan should have played with more responsibility during the showpiece event.

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Shahid Afridi terms Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq as his top skippers

Pakistan’s limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi has termed former cricketers Moin Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Wasim Akram as his top three skippers during his 15-year career.
He further termed late Bob Woolmer as the best coach he has ever played with.
“I enjoyed my cricket a lot under the captaincy of Wasim bhai. Moin bhai was also a tough cricketer and a fighting captain. Inzi bhai was good too. So these would be my top-three, the captains under whom I enjoyed my cricket a lot,” Afridi said.
Describing Woolmer as the “best coach” he ever had, Afridi heaped praise on the Englishman for his outstanding ability to motivate players even in the worst of times. The captain added that Woolmer helped him a lot in boosting his confidence.
“Bob Woolmer has to be the best coach. His coaching style was great, so when a player wasn't performing, Woolmer would sit with the player, chat with him informally, all this to ensure one's spirits didn't fall and the player wouldn't get demoralized,” added the 31-year-old captain.
The flamboyant all-rounder considered Woolmer’s era of coaching as the highlight of his cricketing career.
Afridi is the most senior player in the current Pakistan side with 320 One Day International caps. A true match-winner, Afridi is a mesmerising hitter but his inconsistency with the bat caused him to be in and out of the team over the years.
An aggressive all-rounder, Afridi was introduced to the international stage as a 16-year-old leg-spinner. He shot into prominence by hitting the fastest ODI century in his very first innings as a batsman. He also holds the record for hitting the most number of sixes in 50-over cricket. In bowling, he has taken over 300 wickets.
Afridi further revealed that he was enjoying his time as the skipper of the side. After his ICC World Cup 2011 mistakes, which cost Pakistan a chance to play in the final of the tournament, Afridi has vowed to make amends by putting up an improved performance against West Indies in the upcoming series.

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Wasim Akram happy with selector’s decision.

Former fast bowler Wasim Akram is happy with the selectors' decision to allow the key Pakistan bowler Umar Gul some much needed rest.

Akram said; "I think Gul has been playing non-stop cricket for a while now and needed this rest. It is not a bad idea to have a rotation policy in the bowling department because top pacers carry the risk of getting injured."

Gul has been main bowler of the team since Akram and Waqar Younis left cricket. Cricket analysts rate him as one of the finest bowlers at the depth of an innings, given his ability to bowl yorkers with deadly accuracy.

Having played an instrumental role for the team leading up to the semi-final, Gul had an off day in the game against India. Indian batsmen hammered him all around the ground. He ended up giving 69 runs in eight overs with an economy rate of 8.62. In all he took 14 wickets in eight matches during the World Cup making him the eighth highest wicket-taker of the tournament.

Gul has taken 133 wickets in 88 ODIs, 125 wickets in 34 test matches and 47 wickets in 34 T20s.

Gul wanted to take break from cricket after the World Cup. Pakistani selectors have picked young fast bowlers for the squad.

Akram hopes that head coach Waqar and his assistant Aaqib Javed can polish these bowlers during the Caribbean tour.

He added; "It is good they are trying out new pace bowlers because we have lots of talent in this area."

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