Wasim Akram ready to coach if called upon

The former skipper says young players need to be groomed by captain and coaches

LAHORE: World Cup winner and former captain Wasim Akram, who came to Lahore to watch the second One-Day International (ODI), declared himself available to coach Pakistan if he is contacted by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

“I don’t even care if they give me a good offer or not,” said Wasim, while talking to The Express Tribune. “I’ll come whenever the PCB asks me but first they need to ask me; if they don’t, how can I help?”

The former left-armer added that Pakistan cannot be kept away from cricket and cricket cannot be kept away from Pakistan. “It’s great to watch the Gaddafi packed again and it has brought back memories of my playing days. The passion is great and the noise in unbelievable,” he added. “The PCB has got to move forward slowly and gradually. The whole world has now seen what international cricket means to Pakistan as the passion for it is immense.”

Wasim expressed his belief that Pakistan’s seemingly endless supply of cricketing superstars has not run dry, but rather that young talent is not being converted into world class players. “It is the duty of captains and coaches to look after the players. You need to create stars because the talent is there in a lot of players. Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and Mudassar Nazar made a star out of me and then I in turn helped and taught players such as Saqlain Mushtaq, Shahid Afridi and others.”

With big scores becoming increasingly common and the bowlers often being dispatched all over the ground, the legendary pacer urged his kind to learn to swing the ball and develop variations if they want to survive on flat pitches, suggesting that fellow Sultan of Swing and current Pakistan coach Waqar Younis should be working with the players.

Despite saying that Pakistan is not suffering from a dearth of talented youngsters, Wasim did urge for increased investment in the domestic circuit if the country is to continue producing good players. “The PCB has got to pump money into domestic cricket and improve the prize money and match-fee if they want to produce good players.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th,  2015.

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