Invite World XI to ease concerns - Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, has suggested the PCB invite a World XI to play matches in the country in order to ease the security concerns of international teams. With teams reluctant to tour Pakistan, Akram felt the board needs to find a "viable solution" to the problem, which is "not going to go away soon".

"We should give priority to inviting a World XI if no country is willing to send teams to Pakistan," Akram told PTI.

"If we offer good money to international cricketers from different countries they will come and this will go a long way in showing the world that it is safe to play cricket in our country."

Recently, the ICC decided not to stage the Champions Trophy in Pakistan after several countries expressed reservations about touring. The event, scheduled for last year, had been postponed in light of security concerns. Australia also cancelled their proposed tour of the country in 2008, and are likely to play the ODI leg of the tour in April at a neutral venue.

Akram said the board could try organising its own Twenty20 league on the lines of the IPL and try to attract players to take part. However, he felt the PCB needed to show focus. Recently, Javed Miandad stepped down from his position as director-general.

"Although the PCB is run by former cricketers I don't see a sense of direction but I think we should give them some time. They should also avoid personal feuds and make a good system and follow it,"

he said.

"All board officials must realise no one person can enjoy or have absolute powers. Major decisions must be taken collectively and that is how a good company is run."

Akram hoped Younis Khan succeeds as Pakistan captain, making up for the inadequacies of his predecessor Shoaib Malik.

"I don't think only Sri Lanka series decided Malik's fate. I think his performance and attitude on and off the field also caused him dearly. I think he had lost the confidence of senior players and I hope Younis Khan will prove himself as a good leader."

Akram advised Younis to keep his calm in leading the side, especially when things went against the team. Akram, who led a Pakistan team to India in a breakthrough series in 1999, said the Pakistan players who have been presently barred from travelling to India for the IPL should be permitted to take part in the tournament if the Indian government gives an assurance about their security.

Private leagues must earn ICC recognition first: Wasim Akram

Former Pakistan great Wasim Akram on Tuesday stressed private cricket leagues must get recognition from the game's governing body before being launched to avoid clashes with international sides.

"All the private leagues must get recognition from the International Cricket Council (ICC) or from respective boards before they start, otherwise more and more private leagues could affect international cricket,"

Wasim Kram said.

"These private leagues can offer more money than players get at the international level and that would harm the game at international level, so there must be steps to stop that."

Wasim was reacting to complaints by some Pakistani players banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board for joining the unrecognised Indian Cricket League (ICL).

Wasim Akram criticises Shoaib Malik, selecters

Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, has criticised Shoaib Malik for his captaincy and for not bowling his off-spin in important matches, and also not including the match-winning bowler in the team.

The former captain of Pakistan cricket team, criticizing the captain of the present national team, said that he avoided to bowl in important matches and bowled against easy rivals.

Wasim Akram said that it was the captain’s fault and not the selectors’ for not playing Abdul Rauf after he took three wickets in a match.

He also criticized the selection committee and called for inclusion of Mohammad Aamer, the 16-year-old left-arm seamer from Rawalpindi, into the national team.

Wasim Akram denies being approached to coach Pakistan

Wasim Akram, the former Pakistan captain, has quashed growing speculation that he is about to replace Geoff Lawson as the coach of Pakistan, saying that nobody from the Pakistan Cricket Board has approached him.

Local media has buzzed in recent days with unconfirmed reports that the PCB is unhappy with Lawson and is looking for a replacement. Akram has been conducting a camp for fast bowlers in Lahore at the same time and was asked, on his first day, whether he would be interested in the coaching job.

A positive response - albeit with qualifications - and subsequent reports of a fall-out between Lawson and members of the selection committee has led many to conclude that Akram is being lined up.

But Akram said he had not been sounded out yet, though if the conditions were right, he would consider the post.

"There has been no offer,"

he said.

"Nobody from the board has approached me officially or unofficially with anything. I have a few years left on my contract with ESPN (as a television commentator and analyst) so anything that comes would have to be weighed up against that. Ultimately it would depend on a number of things."

Akram also ruled out the possibility of working as a bowling coach with the team, suggesting that he would prefer becoming a full-time coach.

Akram's work as a floating, freelance bowling consultant of sorts has been successful since he retired from the game in 2003. A number of Indian bowlers have benefited from his informal sessions and last year, in his first official role, his two-week camp for Pakistani fast bowlers, was widely considered a success. Sohail Tanvir - though he had already been spotted - benefited immensely from the tutelage and Akram also pushed the case of Mohammad Aamer, who has had a successful time at the Under-19 level. He is working this time with the likes of Sohail Khan and Anwar Ali.

The development comes amid growing uncertainty over Lawson, though whether there is any substance to the unrest is not yet clear. The coach is expected to arrive in Pakistan from a month-long holiday in Australia tomorrow, and he is likely to arrive to a barrage of questions about his relationship with the selectors and his future.

The selection committee and Lawson both deny that there are problems between them, though there have been run-ins in the series against Zimbabwe earlier this year. The situation was resolved at the time, but matters have reportedly taken a turn for the worse again in the aftermath of the Bangladesh series, the central issue remaining final say in selection. A few days ago, a local Urdu newspaper published an interview reportedly given by Lawson to an unspecified Australian radio station in which he is said to have criticised the selectors and some senior players.

Shoaib Akhtar has to be handled professionally: Wasim Akram

Former captain Wasim Akram said that Shoaib Akhtar has to be handled professionally for achieving good results.

Wasim Akram said that the Kolkata Knight Riders coach John Buchanen has proved this that Shoaib Akhtar has to be handled professionally for getting good results from him while the encouragement from the spectators also played role in Shoaib Akhtar’s outstanding performance in his IPL debut.

He said that he had already predicted that Shoaib Akhtar would perform in the IPL and he is the player who gives fine performance by getting crowd’s support in the ground.

Australia in no hurry to pull out of Pakistan tour

Cricket Australia will wait at least eight weeks before deciding whether Australia will tour Pakistan in March. The assassination of the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi on Thursday raised further concerns about the series, but James Sutherland, the Cricket Australia chief executive, said the shooting and subsequent violence in the country had not changed the organisation's view.

"During February we'll have a look at the circumstances that are relevant to the tour,"

he said.

"Right now playing in a neutral venue is not something that's under consideration. There's a commitment to tour Pakistan and we'll be pursuing every avenue we can for that tour to go ahead."

Sutherland said Cricket Australia was not at the stage of

"looking too deeply into this",

but it would remain in contact with the federal government and take advice from its security experts.

"The tour is nearly three months away,"

he said.

"The appropriate time for us is really eight weeks away."

A delegation of officials from Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers' Association is due to visit the country in February to make a decision on whether the trip will proceed. Sutherland said the safety of the players and the advance party was paramount.

Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd was confident the tour would go ahead as he felt that cricket is a tool to improve diplomatic relations between countries.

"I think we'll sort that all out with Cricket Australia as the time approaches,"

Rudd said in a radio program.

"It's always hard, it's always difficult, but (cricket) is a great international game. It's a great language of international diplomacy.

In response to that, Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said he was happy with Rudd's positive statement.

"We are happy that the Australia prime minister has taken a very positive approach on the issue,"

Ashraf told The News.

"The Australian team will be safe in Pakistan, which is a nation that loves sports. In addition, we will be providing them a fool-proof security cover here."

Michael Clarke said the team was confident with any choice made by Cricket Australia.

"We'll all be leaving it to them, we're out of our depth,"

he said.

"I certainly don't know enough about it. Cricket Australia will let us know when we get closer to touring there and I'll go on whatever they say."

Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, said if Australia's investigation concluded that touring would be too dangerous the ICC would complete its own report.

"If ultimately it's decided it's unsafe, the next step is a neutral venue and the next step is to defer the series and fit it in to the schedule,"

he told ABC radio.

"There will be no decisions in the next week or the next month."

Pakistan staged the 2002-03 series against Australia in Sharjah and Sri Lanka, but Speed said the ICC could not force the next contest to be held at a neutral venue.

"That's another option for Pakistan,"

he said.

"We need to wait and see how things settle down."

The Pakistan Cricket Board has said the matches would not be played outside Pakistan.

Wasim Akram said the PCB could do nothing at the moment to ensure the Australia tour occurred.

"First the country has to settle down into some state of normalcy,"

he said. A previous Australian delegation visited Pakistan in July before the Australia A and Under-19 tours that were held without any problems.