Media News
NEW DELHI, April 14

Former speedster and ESPN STAR Sports expert commentator Wasim Akram is backing Shoaib Malik as Pakistan's next captain. With Younis Khan reportedly declining to take up the captaincy, former Test skipper Akram says Pakistan have little to choose from.

In an exclusive interview to Mobile ESPN, Akram said “The only ones who can handle the job are Mohammed Yousuf and Shoaib Malik." He further added, "Shoaib Malik is a good choice. He is young and he is talented. We should back him and groom this lad. I don't think we have much of a choice, if Younis is not interested."

Akram said Younis would have been a good choice to succeed Inzamam-ul-Haq. "But if he has indeed been making those comments about absolute power and control, then Younis is silly. For any captain, he must first win the trust of his teammates, get some victories under his belt and power will automatically come. You don't have to clamour for power," Akram said.

Akram also rejected former captain and coach Javed Miandad's comments that captains must not be given full authority. "Javed has been my mentor but I sometimes don't understand what he says. When he was captain, Javed bhai wanted full control and now he is saying something else.”

"In India and Pakistan, a captain must be the boss. Because he is the man leading the team on the field. Of course, there must be healthy interaction between captain and the selectors. The rest will fall in place."

Akram is saddened by the state of affairs in Pakistan cricket. "For the last 7 years, there's been no system in the PCB. Ad-hocism doesn't work and that's the reason why people like Imran Khan don't want to get associated. In any case, Imran now is a politician first and then a cricketer. He will not take up a post in a body that is under the Pakistan President."

For the first time, Akram blasted former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq for being high-handed in his dealings. "Inzy definitely had become a dictator. He had obviously become very powerful. I know for a fact that Bob Woolmer and the foreign back-up staff would approach him for leave. I have seen senior PCB officials sitting at his residence and awaiting orders. These things are not good for cricket," Akram said.

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