Our players need self-belief to lift Cup hopes, says Wasim Akram

BRISBANE: Wasim Akram urged Pakistan’s struggling players to show more self-belief stressing that it’s the only way they can resurrect their World Cup campaign.
Pakistan’s pace legend told ‘The News’ here at Gabba that one of the primary reasons behind Pakistan below-average performance in the World Cup is that their players are not confident about themselves.
“You have to have self-belief otherwise there is no chance for you to win matches especially against the top teams,” he said on the sidelines of Pakistan’s must-win Pool B game against Zimbabwe.
During an illustrious international career that spanned over almost two decades Wasim rose to dizzying height. However, there were also bad days for the former Pakistan captain.
But ask the ex-Test pacer whether critics and former stalwarts in his era were as vicious as they are now and he will tell you that the level of criticism in Pakistan
“There is no comparison. There were no personal attacks when I was playing. Now it is all about sensationalism. I can understand the level of pressure on the players because of the way they are being criticised,” he said.
“There should be limits to viciousness. The critics should show class and come out with solutions.”
Pakistan have failed to impress much in the tournament so far and Wasim said that one of the reasons for it is their inexperienced bowling attack.
“It is very tough to play with inexperienced bowlers. There is no Junaid Khan who swings the ball well. There is no Saeed Ajmal who is one of the best spinners. Mohammad Hafeez is also missing. So it is an inexperienced bowling attack and we saw against the West Indies how they destroyed it in the last five overs.
“But I must say that it is difficult to bowl in the last five overs these days. You have players like AB McCullum. I’m glad that I retired at the right time,” he said with a smile.
Wasim had a word of encouragement for Misbah-ul-Haq but was quick to add that the team could have done better had it spent more time in Australia ahead of the World Cup.
“He (Misbah) has done well. I’m impressed with his performance on and off the field.
“It’s just that these are different wickets altogether. You need to spend at least a month to get used to the conditions here. It helped us back in 1992 because we arrived here three to four weeks before the World Cup.”
Wasim agreed that when it comes to ODI captaincy, Pakistan will need to make a fresh start after the World Cup.
“I’ve been thinking about it that after Misbah retires who will be the captain. I can’t pick any. But you have to move on and find a new captain. Unfortunately, we don’t believe in homework in our part of the world when it comes to grooming a future captain.
“There will have to be a fresh start. After Misbah and Afridi you will need new faces. You have Sohaib Maqsood, Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal but they will need to be more consistent. Also, you have to look the part but so far they don’t look the part.
It is inevitable that whenever you are interviewing Wasim, that superb over in the 1992 final is always mentioned.
Does he remember it as vividly as millions of cricket fans around the world?
“Last couple of months that I’ve been here they are showing it every day. It was a proud moment for me and for all Pakistanis,” he said
Asked whether the current Pakistan side can match the Team of 1992, Wasim said: “This team has substance. We have to support them instead of making fun of them on social media. My message to people criticising these players is ‘get a life’. I mean if you want to criticise then come out with solutions instead of using foul language.
About the expulsion of chief selector Moin Khan for over a Casino visit, Wasim said that he suspects that Moin was made a scapegoat.
“The Moin episode was unfortunate. Ex-greats ask me about it and I have no answer. Personally I think they he has been made a scapegoat.”
Wasim termed Inzamam-ul-Haq’s run out by South Africa’s Jonty Rhodes in the 1992 World Cup as the most iconic moment in the tournament’s history.
“We were all shocked when he (Rhodes) ran out Inzy. In the dressing room Imran (Khan) asked Inzi ‘why didn’t you dive?’ He replied ‘how would I know that he would jump with the ball!’ It was the most iconic moment in any World Cup.”