'Ab Babar Bechara Kya Kar Sakta Hai...': Wasim Akram Gives Comeback Tips to Pakistan Skipper

The discussion around the Pakistan cricket team’s performance in the ongoing World Cup has become a matter of unending debate, especially after the 8-wicket loss against Afghanistan. The Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai saw one of the biggest upsets of the tournament where Afghanistan registered their first win against the men in green. The defeat of Babar Azam & Co also left the Pakistan cricket fraternity fuming with the experts lashing out at the players for their lacklustre approach.

One of the former cricketers was Wasim Akram who slammed the Pakistan players for their poor fitness. But as the team gears up for another challenge against South Africa, Akram extended his support to the battered and bruised Pakistan side.

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During a discussion on A Sports, a fan asked the former captain about Babar Azam’s approach in the upcoming games when the top bowlers in Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf are not delivering to their potential.

Replying to the query, Akram said, “Ab Babar bechara kya kar sakta hai (What can Babar do) when his bowlers are struggling? The only thing he can do is sit down with them and give a heap of confidence and as a nation, we should as well.”

“We know that they had 3-4 bad games, they are having a problem with the new ball. But the skill and ability are there. They just need one good delivery or a good spell so that they have the confidence back,” he added.

Another fan asked about fast bowlers losing their pace with experience. Akram said one of the reasons could be their lack of bowling in the nets.

“I think, what I personally feel, is they bowl less in the nets. I know they are playing too much cricket but sometimes you need to bowl in the nets to brush up your muscles, not during the series but off-season. I can only give my example because I’ve played County Cricket for years where I had to play 17 games in a season so that impacted my performance,” the former Pakistan captain said.

Akram further shed light on the Pakistan cricket team’s preparations for their victorious campaign in the 1992 World Cup. He recalled how captain Imran Khan took the team to Australia a month prior to prepare for the tournament.

“I remember in 1992, Imran Bhai took us almost a month prior to the World Cup and we just trained. The idea was to acclimatize to the condition as soon as possible and get supreme fit. We started our training with 10 laps of the ground and then we fielded, bowled and batted,” he concluded.