Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has extended his support to the battered and bruised Pakistan side after their 8-wicket loss against Afghanistan in the ongoing World Cup. Speaking on A Sports, Akram said that Babar Azam can do little when his bowlers are struggling. He urged the nation to support the bowlers and give them confidence.
“Ab Babar bechara kya kar sakta hai (What can Babar do) when his bowlers are struggling? The only thing he can do is sit down with them and give a heap of confidence and as a nation, we should as well,” Wasim Akram said.
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“We know that they had 3-4 bad games, they are having a problem with the new ball. But the skill and ability are there. They just need one good delivery or a good spell so that they have the confidence back,” he added.
Wasim Akram also blamed the bowlers’ lack of bowling in the nets for their loss of pace.
What can a captain like #BabarAzam do if his main bowlers #ShaheenAfridi and #HarisRauf are not at their best? @wasimakramlive answers in #AskThePavilion.#ASportsHD #ARYZAP #CWC23 #ThePavilion #ShoaibMalik #MoinKhan #FakhreAlam #MisbahUlHaq #AUSvNED pic.twitter.com/9Y39QY3Ln1
— ASports (@asportstvpk) October 25, 2023
“I think, what I personally feel, is they bowl less in the nets. I know they are playing too much cricket but sometimes you need to bowl in the nets to brush up your muscles, not during the series but off-season. I can only give my example because I’ve played County Cricket for years where I had to play 17 games in a season so that impacted my performance,” Wasim Akram said.
Wasim Akram also recalled how captain Imran Khan took the team to Australia a month prior to the 1992 World Cup to prepare for the tournament.
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“I remember in 1992, Imran Bhai took us almost a month prior to the World Cup and we just trained. The idea was to acclimatize to the condition as soon as possible and get supreme fit. We started our training with 10 laps of the ground and then we fielded, bowled and batted,” he concluded.
Akram’s comments are a timely reminder to the Pakistan team of the importance of preparation and fitness. The team will need to be at their best if they want to challenge for the title at the World Cup.
