Akram to fine-tune Pakistan fast bowlers

Legendary pace bowler Wasim Akram will fine-tune Pakistan’s fast bowlers for the Champions Trophy at a 10-day training camp in Karachi this month.

Three untested fast bowlers — to be picked around the country by a cellular company and the Pakistan Cricket Board — will join the likes of Umar Gul, Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan during the April 20-29 camp.

Akram believes it’s high time for Pakistan to find lethal fast bowlers to have a reserve pace armoury as he feels it’s easy to teach them how to control the pace and the art of swing.

Akram took 414 wickets in 104 test matches before quitting the longer format of the game in 2002. He also took 502 wickets in 356 one-day internationals and retired from international cricket in 2003.

He said that Pakistani bowlers must master swing bowling to win internationally, as he readies to nurture the country’s talent at a key training camp.

“I was disappointed the way our fast bowlers performed in South Africa, so I will try to teach the fast bowlers how to swing the ball which is important for performing well at international level,” Wasim said at the launch of the camp.

Known fondly as “Sultan of swing” for his mastery, the 46-year-old left-arm fast bowler will train around 15 current and upcoming bowlers at a camp in Karachi from April 20-29.

Wasim was invited to do so by the Pakistan Cricket Board ahead of the eight-nation Champions Trophy in England in June, after Pakistani pacemen failed to impress on tour in South Africa earlier this year.

Frontline paceman Umar Gul managed just five wickets in two Tests while lanky Mohammad Irfan took two in two. Rahat Ali was the best with six wickets in two matches after going wicketless in his debut Test.

“If someone wants to be a really good fast bowler he will have to bear with the scorching sun and heat. If he does that, only then he can become a good bowler and it’s a continuous process of learning,” said Wasim.

Wasim said that Irfan, the world’s tallest bowler who stands at seven feet one inch, has to work hard on his fitness.

“If he keeps fit then I am sure he can play for three-four years,” said Wasim, who took 414 Test and 502 one-day wickets.

Wasim also expressed hope that India would allow Pakistani players to feature in their lucrative Twenty20 Indian Premier League (IPL).

“I think politics should stay away from sports,” said Wasim, who was the bowling coach of Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL until last year.

“Since Pakistani bowlers are better than India’s, it will benefit the Indian league,” he added.

Pakistani players featured in the inaugural IPL in 2008 but India stalled all bilateral ties after the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai killed 166 people and were blamed on Pakistani-based militants.

Despite a short, ties-reviving series with Pakistan in December-January, Pakistani players were not allowed to take part in the ongoing sixth edition of the IPL.

Wasim will pass his experience of international cricket to the selected lot and the national team pacers during a Ufone-organised camp.

U-fone here on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to invest into the cricket talent pool of Pakistan and to provide opportunities for the development and growth of young Pakistani fast bowlers.

Under the signed MOU cricketing legend, fast bowler and former Captain of the Pakistan National Team, Wasim Akram, also the Brand Ambassador of fastest data network, Ufone, will host a camp for the bowlers in our national team.

Alongside under the king of speed banner Ufone in collaboration with PCB will search for the fastest bowlers in the country. The activity will be carried out nationwide as the candidates will be selected from 8-10 cities over 5-7 days from across Pakistan and any bowler with a bowling speed of 140 kmph or more will be selected.

To facilitate this grand activity PCB will extend full support for selection in each of the cities and will also provide speed detecting guns for the selection of candidates. Under a wild card selection the top three bowlers will be selected to join Wasim Akram in Karachi at the camp being held for the top Pakistani bowlers and get an opportunity of their lifetime to be a part of this moment in cricket history.

While speaking at the occasion, Salman Wassay, Chief Commercial Officer, Ufone, said we at Ufone take pride in offering productive openings to the youth, bowling has always been the strength of each Pakistani outfit and our nation would be jubilant at the existence of a couple of tear away fast bowlers in the team. This agreement is an effort from the fastest data network to find the fastest arm in the country.

He further said that this activity can be the founding step for a long lasting relationship with PCB, and Ufone will continue to explore other avenues to further cooperate with PCB and conduct similar activities to cater to the needs of our young talent.

While paying tribute to Ufone, Mr. Subhan Ahmad, COO PCB, said that this indeed is a positive step by Ufone. With this initiative we will be able to hunt hidden heroes and the camp will help groom them for the future of cricket in the country.

He said that Ufone has provided the golden opportunity for the youth to benefit from this activity and play their due role on the national level.

Towards the end of the program there will be a grand prize of Rs. One Million for the bowler who achieves the bowling speed of above 145 kmph. In case of multiple participants achieving this speed, the winner will be selected through another round or amount to be equally shared.