Described by most as the best left arm fast bowler ever and someone who could change the course of the game with either bat or ball in the space of a few deliveries, Wasim Akram will always be remembered as an all time great and cherished by cricket fans the world over.

By Nimra Ishtiaq and Nasser Khan (16 September 2011) 

PakPassion.net had the distinct pleasure of speaking with this living legend in a no holds barred conversation in which he speaks of his desire to improve Pakistani cricket, his old bowling partner Waqar, aspects of fast bowling and comments on the current crop of fast bowlers.

PakPassion.net: Many many thanks for your time. I know you have had a very busy schedule this summer and I'm sure everybody at PakPassion and all your fans around the world will really appreciate your time in doing this interview.

Wasim Akram: No worries, not a problem.


PakPassion.net: Two years ago, putting your mind back to the day at Lords when Pakistan won the T20 World Cup, I remember seeing you come out of the lift in the press box, you were so happy and proud. But so much has happened in the two years since that victory, why does Pakistan cricket have this problem of shooting itself in the foot again and again?

Wasim Akram: It's not just one factor. There are quite a few factors, and obviously one main factor is that no team comes to Pakistan. Pakistan is hardly playing any test cricket nowadays, especially at home, and home grounds are either Dubai or Abu Dhabi. The talent is there - I've just watched the T20 Ramadan tournament by the Moin Khan Academy and the talent I saw there was still amazing to see. People, especially from India, they all ask me ?how come you guys have so much talent??

I think this [lack of home cricket] is one factor, and obviously there is no stability in leadership as far as the cricket team is concerned. If you look at it this way, if Misbah goes, who will be the next captain? There is no plan. We have to plan for the 2015 World Cup ? it's only three or four years time and still we don't know who the captain will be! You have to do the planning ? I'm not denying the cricket board must be doing something, working hard, but they have to do a lot more than this.


PakPassion.net: Imagine you were given the role of the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman tomorrow, what would be the first couple of things you would implement straight away? What would be your main priorities?

Wasim Akram: It's simple. First of all I would just try to have one leader [of the cricket team] and at least announce him for a year, and then get a coach and obviously get a guy who the boys will get along with. Either it's a foreign coach, or it's a Pakistani coach, whoever, you should ask the boys first because they are going to be working with him. Bring stability into the system and I think everything will eventually work.

These are the first things I'd will do, then obviously stuff like looking for the right talent and getting it to the NCA [National Cricket Academy]. The PCB have such wonderful facilities in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, everywhere, have people getting their youngsters, especially in summer where nobody does anything for a couple of months, to come. Also, try to get the Pakistan "A "and emerging sides on tours to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, wherever it can be arranged ? the more tours, the more the players will improve and learn.


PakPassion.net: You mentioned the coach ? obviously Waqar has recently resigned from the position for reasons best known to himself. Do you believe a foreign coach to be better at this time for Pakistan or should it be somebody who is Pakistani?

Wasim Akram: I'm all for a foreign coach, but like I said it all depends on what the boys would be comfortable with. Nowadays, a foreign coach does not have access to first class cricket in Pakistan because of security issues and he can only see the Pakistan team. You have to know the second batch of players in Pakistan domestic cricket, how they are playing, how they've been performing too and watch them as well as the international players.

I would say right now I recommend, we have enough talent in Pakistan, we have produced some great players. Waqar has done a good job and is leaving for personal reasons, so I would suggest find someone from Pakistan, and there are quite a few coaches available.


PakPassion.net: You were somebody who had a natural, God-given talent with regards to your bowling. Very few bowlers will ever be produced that had the talent that you had. Is it something that, as a fast bowler is natural talent or do you have to work at it? The comment ?fast bowlers are born, not made? comes to mind.

I was told that I was a very natural cricketer but I worked like a dog. I had very good mentors, like Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and Mudassar Nazar ; these guys taught me how to prolong my career, how to work hard.

Talent can stay with you for three or four years, but hard work can prolong your talent for many more years and that's exactly what I did. I worked hard. There is nothing easy in any profession, in any sport, unless you work like a dog. Nowadays you can be a good Twenty20 player and make a career out of it, but my ambition was always to be the best player in the world in all formats and that should be the aim for every youngster.


PakPassion.net: I speak with Mudassar Nazar on a regular basis and he always says you and Waqar, even after the training had finished, you guys would still be doing your laps around the Gaddafi Stadium or the National Stadium in Karachi, whilst the other boys would be sitting in the changing rooms having a cup of tea. Do you think some of the modern day Pakistani cricketers want the easy life and aren't prepared to maybe work as hard as you guys did?


Wasim Akram: I think it's not just Pakistan, it's worldwide. I think playing so much cricket, Pakistan are unfortunately not playing as much, but we learnt exactly the same things from Imran Khan and Mudassar Nazar, how to train even after training, and that's what helped me.

We have to tell them, the Pakistani boys, you have to groom them, you have to sit with them, you have to take them out for dinners apart from teaching them cricket. Our culture is different ? in our culture you need more attention and I think that's what the boys need.

They are actually very good boys in general and very respectful. They just need to be groomed. Waqar would have been training the boys very hard, I can promise you that. They have just had too much cricket to play and its understandable.


PakPassion.net: You have been watching the England-India series very closely this summer, you have been commentating and analysing the matches. How highly do you rate this England team? Do you think they could be one of the all-time great teams like Australia or West Indies of yesteryear?

Wasim Akram: No, it's too early to say. They are a very good side no doubt. They are the number one side, but you see West Indies ruled the world and so did Australia. Let England go to India for five one-dayers and let England play Pakistan in Dubai and Abu Dhabi but again, taking nothing away from England, they look exceptionally good, they look fit, young, they have energy and passion and they have this clear confidence now.

It's very rare for me to see an England side so good and this is one of the few England sides I've seen with this much confidence. They bat to number ten, they are tremendous fielders, they are low-key and don't talk much ? they are a slightly different breed to teams of the past.


PakPassion.net: Returning to the topic of fast bowling, with respect to the scheduling you mentioned and the all-year-round cricketing fixture list, do you think it's driving fast bowlers into the ground?

Recently I conducted an interview with Michael Holding and he said the only genuine fast bowler in test cricket that he's seeing these days is Dale Steyn. A lot of the other guys have either retired from test cricket or are driven towards limited overs cricket.

Wasim Akram: It varies from cricketer to cricketer, but if you want to be remembered as a great of the game, for that you have to be known for playing test cricket. For some it's easier to retire from test cricket, to play just Twenty20 cricket, earn a lot of money and then disappear. Someone like Dale Steyn will be remembered as a great as he's an exceptional bowler who runs in hard for every ball he bowls whatever the format and that's the difference in his attitude compared to some others.


PakPassion.net: Umar Gul is somebody who has performed very well in Twenty20 cricket and done well in one-day cricket, but he hasn't quite delivered in test cricket. If you could have a sit down with Umar Gul and say ?this is where you're going wrong?, in test cricket, would you be able to pinpoint where he can improve?

Wasim Akram: First of all, he's a very talented bowler, he's got the pace, he does swing the ball, he's got the reverse swing going, he's got a beautiful yorker. But what I'd tell him to start off with is just learn to bowl length ball after length ball, to bowl one length for five overs, specifically for test cricket, like Glenn McGrath used to do. OK, you are an attacking bowler, so was I, so was Waqar, but you are very worried about your bowling analysis. Play with your bowling analysis, but if nothing is happening off the wicket, then just say OK, I'm going to bowl 20 overs and give away about 40 runs and if I get a couple of wickets then it's fair enough. These cricketers, just need to fine-tune their brain, their mental state as a bowler.


PakPassion.net: So with Umar Gul you are saying it's more of a mindset rather than a lack of cricketing skills?

Wasim Akram: Yes absolutely.


PakPassion.net: Your own career, you are a legend, you did so well for Pakistan and for Lancashire. Looking back at your own career, any regrets? Anything you would change about it now if you had the opportunity?

Wasim Akram: Not really ? I think I've done enough! But things I've done, obviously there must be a lot of regrets, it goes without saying, but one would be to have concentrated more on my batting but I always wanted to be a bowler who can bat. I didn't want to be a bit of a bowler, a bit of a batsman.

I'm OK, there are no regrets as far as my cricket is concerned. I really and thoroughly enjoyed it, I played with the players I admired, I played with players who were brave at times, who were exceptionally talented. They were very strong-minded people and fair enough we had our differences, in truth we used to sway from here to there but in the end our country, Pakistan cricket mattered to us and winning mattered to us more than anything else.


PakPassion.net: One of the saddest moments of last year was obviously the spot-fixing scenario. Michael Holding?s infamous scenes on television where he almost broke down in tears when the news was broken still linger in the memory. How much did it hurt you as a former Pakistani cricketer to see those revelations last year?

Wasim Akram: Obviously it was very painful ? not just for me but for every Pakistani living in Pakistan or living abroad. You know I feel for the boys. They should have had the awareness ? the management should have been aware. Our lads are not very well-educated ? they come from very humble backgrounds. Obviously if I am the manager or coach of the Pakistan team, I should know where they [the players] are going and who they are meeting with. It might be a privacy invasion but this is part of our culture ? to preach to them, to teach them that bad company would lead them to wrongdoings.

They do not have that awareness. Look at Amir. What a rare talent he is ? rather he was! He came and took five wickets at Lord?s straightaway. You know I always wanted my name on the [Honours] board but despite all my achievments I never got five wickets at Lord?s! He (Amir) came to England played at Lords and got his name on the honours board right away. He could also bat, what a talent that boy was. Even Asif ? what a tremendous seam bowler! So yes, it was a sad day and I do feel for these boys.


PakPassion.net: Wasim, you spoke about Umar Gul. There are also a couple of left armers who you have worked with ? Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan. I have spoken to both of them regularly this summer and naturally they hold you in very high regard. They really cherish any advice you give to them. Your thoughts on their bowling ? do you feel there is anything they need to work on?

Wasim Akram: Unfortunately, I haven?t seen Junaid much but I?ve heard good things [about him]. I met Mike Watkinson recently at Old Trafford and a couple of committee members and we spoke about Junaid. He (Junaid) is a very quiet boy and a very talented bowler. I would like to see him continue to improve and work hard.

As for Wahab Riaz, what I like about him is that he is fit. He is actually super-fit. He is a very intelligent bowler. If he can learn how to bring the ball back in to the right hander, then he is going to become more lethal, especially if he maintains his fitness and pace.


PakPassion.net: Shoaib Akhtar is somebody who can be best described as a ?rare talent? ? an enigma. His career had its ups and downs. How do you feel Shoaib Akhtar?s career will be remembered and do you think he did enough for Pakistan cricket, given the talent that he had?

Wasim Akram: Yes, he could have done a lot better. Most of the times he was well above 140kph. What a rare talent he was! I?ve seen batsmen ? tough batsmen ? on the backfoot and being scared of him. It was a real treat to see a player with such talent ? and that?s where it stops. Injuries, his off-the-field activities hampered him ? but he did end up with almost 250 wickets in one day cricket. However, like I said, whenever somebody will remember his name, they would not say ?oh that guy was great? ? he would not be labeled as a ?great?. He was a great sight to watch though.


PakPassion.net: Are your sons into cricket? Do they want to follow in your cricketing footsteps?

Wasim Akram: Taimoor and Akbar have very little interest in cricket. They only sometimes watch [cricket] matches. I think at this young age whatever they want to do, you just have to support them. My kids are not too interested in cricket.


PakPassion.net: So we won?t be seeing Akram juniors in Pakistani colours?

Wasim Akram: (laughs) No, no, may be not Akram junior, but as far as I am concerned every kid playing in Pakistan I feel is like my kid and they all are like Akram juniors to me.


PakPassion.net: What?s harder: coaching, commentating or playing cricket?

Wasim Akram: Playing cricket, I knew that. I knew how to play cricket so that was ok, not a problem. Commentating to start off was tough, it was very difficult. Now I?m really enjoying it as I have got used to it. Coaching is definitely the most difficult facet of cricket.


PakPassion.net: What makes coaching the most difficult facet in cricket?

Wasim Akram: It?s frustrating as you cannot do anything yourself. Nothing is in your control once the boys have taken the field. When I played cricket I could change the game, but as a coach I don?t have that opportunity, only the players can change the course of a match.