RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Feb 27 (AFP) - Former Pakistan cricketers Sunday advised pace bowler Wasim Akram to call it a day and make way for youngsters.
The reaction came after Akram relinquished the captaincy and was not fit during the first Test against Sri Lanka which began here on Saturday.
''He is no more a match winner and cannot bowl 10-15 overs in a spell so it's useless for him to drag on,'' former test fast bowler Sarfraz Nawaz told reporters.
Asked whether Wasim should be allowed to complete 400 Test wickets, Nawaz said, ''not at national cost.''
''He has let down the team in the Rawalpindi Test.''
Akram has 383 wickets in 92 Tests but is ruled out of the series with a groin injury. He needs another 51 wickets to match Indian pacer Kapil Dev's record of 434 wickets.
Nawaz said Wasim was not fully fit for the longer version of the game.
''Akram can't even take wickets in the initial overs of the one-dayers and if he wants to play limited over games he should bowl first change,'' he said.
Nawaz, who partnered the legendary Imran Khan in his career spanning 55 Tests with 177 wickets, said Pakistan should forge a new attack pair of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Akram.
Akhtar too sustained groin injury ahead of the Rawalpindi Test.
Former batsman and coach Haroon Rasheed said Akram was the best judge to decide when to bid adieu.
''A player can gauge himself when to say goodbye but we do not have such a tradition in Pakistan, only Asif Iqbal quit at the right time,'' Rasheed said.
''Its very tough for him to sustain such a pressure any more and that with diabetic problems,'' he said.
Former wicketkeeper Taslim Arif cited Australian Ian Healy's example, saying: ''I think Healy quit at the peak of his career, Akram is no more a threat to batsmen.
''In my opinion it's time for him to say goodbye gracefully.''
But former captain Zaheer Abbas disagreed.
''In my opinion he still has much cricket left in him and he can serve the country,'' Abbas said.
He termed fitness problems as momentary and said Akram would bounce back. ''We need him and he can still deliver the goods.'' |
