LAHORE – Pakistan’s former skipper Wasim Akram has questioned the leadership ability of national team skipper Shahid Afridi.
Talking to a private channel, Akram said that the team failed to put up good show against New Zealand in T20 series because it could not play as a unit, and if this continues, making an impact in the World Cup would be difficult for the team.
The former skipper said, “Because the team is not playing as a unit, they are facing many problems. One saw a lack of leadership in the team and the players also did not play to their abilities. If they continue playing this way, they will also lose the Test and ODI series in New Zealand.”
The former great said that difficult conditions in New Zealand and the inclusion of a large number of inexperienced players in the team were main reasons for Pakistan’s below-par performance.
He said absence of pacers like Muhammad Aamir and Muhammad Asif in the bowling attack was making the team to struggle on the bowling front against strong sides. On the contrary, former skipper Moin Khan said that change of captain at a point when World Cup was round the corner could be a mistake. He said, “It would be a big folly to even think about changing the captain now because the World Cup is now very close and there is no time at all for experiments.
” The former wicketkeeper advised Pakistan cricket board to stick to Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi as Test and one-day captains. He also favoured retaining Afridi as the skipper for the world Cup squad.
Moin was of the view that in order to help the players perform to their full potential, it was imperative to give them enough time and opportunity so that they get settled in the team. According to him, consistency in the selection could mitigate a lot of problems the green shirts had been facing.
