Mumbai, Sep 12 (IANS) Legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram believes Pakistan will put up a strong fight against a dominant India when the two sides meet in the Asia Cup in Dubai on Sunday.
The highly-charged clash between the arch-rivals – their first since May’s military conflict – has generated global buzz, with tickets already sold out, according to a news report.
India, the defending champions, have been in imperious form, winning 18 of their 21 T20 Internationals since claiming the World Cup last year. They underlined their status with a crushing nine-wicket win over hosts UAE in their opening game on Wednesday.
Pakistan, meanwhile, enter the Asia Cup buoyed by their tri-series triumph over Afghanistan and UAE, the report said.
“I think it will be a competitive match,” Akram told Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net). “Yes, India are a good and strong team and if you compare these two teams player-wise India look stronger, but I think Pakistan will have the confidence of winning the tri-series and will give a good competition.”
Wasim Akram said Pakistan have the building blocks in place under new captain Salman Agha and coach Mike Hesson, but also warned against expecting instant results.
“Pakistan is a young side with a good captain and a good head coach, so they need time to settle into a stronger unit. We, as a nation, need quick results which will not come,” he was quoted as saying by www.telecomasia.net
The legendary left-arm pacer also highlighted areas of concern, particularly the form and role of Mohammad Haris, who has struggled since scoring a century against Bangladesh in May.
“This young team is doing well. For me they have a few problems, like Mohammad Haris is not in the best of form but he is not playing at his usual number as opener,” said Akram.
“It’s tough on Haris. I was speaking with Robin Uthappa (former Indian opener) during commentary and he told me that it’s next to impossible for an opener to bat in the middle order, so Haris should be promoted up the order in the games.”
The other worry, Akram warned, lies in the bowling attack. “The only problem for me is that you cannot have two part-time bowlers as a fifth bowling option. If you have two part-timers then the opponents will attack them. It will be good if you have five proper bowlers. If they get attacked, the pressure comes to batting.”
The report said Akram praised India’s current line-up, especially their bowling variety. “Just like Pakistan, they have four good spinners and two seam-bowling options. Kuldeep and Varun are both good. It’s tough to read them. Kuldeep was very accurate and lethal the other day.”
He credited India’s sustained strength to their cricketing structure. “India has not reached this stage in a month. It was a long-time process. They have one of the best high-performance centres. They had Rahul Dravid and then Laxman so they have a set-up. If a player gets injured then he goes to the centre and gets proper rehab. They have a supremely standard IPL and their players do not go to any other league.”
For Wasim Akram, India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is among the very best in the modern game, though he dismissed comparisons across eras.
“Bumrah is a good bowler but comparing bowlers of different eras is not correct. Our era was different. At that time batters used to bat in a different style, they used to not hit every ball so there was less pressure.
“Now the batters do not leave anything, they thrash every other ball, so the pressure is more on the bowlers. Bumrah is top of the ladder and is being managed well by India. So credit to bowlers of this era because due to T20 cricket there is more pressure on them.”
