'They've been playing cricket for 10 years and I can’t teach them' - Wasim Akram lashes out on Pakistan after loss against India

If one presumed that the critique offered by former Pakistani speedster, Shoaib Akhtar, regarding Pakistan and their performance during the run-chase against India was filled with potency, another esteemed figure of the Pakistan cricket realm, Wasim Akram shared his views on the discourse on the identical subject, albeit with the latter's commentary characterized by heightened dynamism and frantic expression.

While appearing on Star Sports, the former left-arm bowler did not mince words and refrained from glossing over any details when addressing the conduct of certain Pakistani batters during the pursuit of the target set by Team India, especially because they being at the international arena for a decade. He did not spare anyone from his evaluation, including wicketkeeper-batter, Mohammad Rizwan, despite his top-scoring contribution of 31.

Particularly critical was his assessment of Rizwan's aggressive shot attempt off the first delivery of Jasprit Bumrah's second spell, emphasizing the batter's apparent lack of strategic awareness in recognizing Bumrah as the primary threat. Instead, he suggested that Rizwan should've adopted a more conservative approach against the right-arm pacer, who earned the Player of the Match award for his exceptional outing.

“They've been playing cricket for 10 years, and I can’t teach them. Rizwan has no game awareness. He should've known that Bumrah was given the ball to take wickets and that the wise thing would've been to play his deliveries cautiously. But Rizwan went for a big shot and lost his wicket,” Akram said while speaking on Star Sports.

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Additionally, his scrutiny of Iftikhar Ahmed was scathing, as he brazenly asserted that Ahmed lacked proficiency in batting and demonstrated a severe limitation in his skillset, predominantly favouring a single shot towards the leg side despite his extensive experience. He spared no scrutiny for Fakhar Zaman as well, attributing to him the same deficiency in-game awareness as he did for Iftikhar. 

“Iftikhar Ahmed knows one shot on the leg side. He's been a part of the team for years but doesn’t know how to bat. I can’t go and tell about game awareness to Fakhar Zaman," added Akram.

It's time to keep the coaches and change the entire team: Akram

There has been a consistent pattern wherein the support staff have bore the consequences for the subpar performances of players, particularly concerning the Pakistani team. Echoing this sentiment, the 58-year-old remarked that players have become accustomed to the leniency of retaining their positions despite underperformance, advocating for a reversal of this pattern. He proposed that the retention of the backend team should persist while the players face the prospect of being replaced.

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"Pakistani players think that if they don’t perform well, the coaches will be sacked, and nothing will happen to them. It's time to keep the coaches and change the entire team,” concluded Akram.