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NEWS ICC Champions Trophy 2006>Asians are fined for trivial matters: Akram 10th Oct 2006 18.08 IST By Agencies Wasim Akram is a candid man in the true sense of the word. Be it regarding the Pakistan Cricket Board, or Younis Khan’s attitude regarding captaincy or even regarding the attitude of the referees and umpires towards Indian and Pakistani cricketers, he minces no words in giving a frank opinion about anything.
Akram who has been world’s leading all-rounders agreed that even though Asian countries like India and Pakistan were dominating the world of cricket, however, it was their players who were being penalised every now and then on petty issues. Referring to the treatment meted out to Inzamam-ul-Haq and Sourav Ganguly by the ICC, he said, "It is true that it is the players of Asian countries who are fined for trivial matters." "I think that in the longer run it is actually the referees who have to be 'consistent' with their jobs. They have to ensure that they give the same treatment to each player whether it is Inzamam-ul-Haq or Ricky Ponting. But for that I feel that the cricket boards of the two countries have be strong or else this will continue." On Younis Khan ’s approach towards captaincy Akram said, "Captaincy cannot be done with this kind of an attitude. It is infact the quality of a good captain to be a good crises manager." About Shahid Khan Afridi ’s "guess work" about pace bowling, Akram quipped in a lighter vein, "What does he know about pace bowling? He knows very little about it in the same way as I know very little about what being a leg spinner is." The former left-arm fast bowler said that he did not agree with Greg Chappell's opinion that he will keep on experimenting till the World Cup. "Greg has been a great cricketer but I personally feel that it makes a lot of difference when the players know in advance that in all probability they will be a part of the team. To keep them guessing till the last moment is not a correct strategy." The former Pak cricketer said that the Indian Pace attack- comprising of Munaf Patel , Irfan Pathan , S Sreesanth and Rudra Pratap Singh was "talented but young as far as experience counts." Akram who was nominated as Wisden Cricket of the Year in 1993 favoured seasoned foreign players as coaches, "Coaching is a job of man management. With foreign coaches, the players feel safe that they are going to come, do their job and go home. They will not be too interested in "briefing" the Press or the cricket boards about you." He said that he had no intentions of becoming coach. "It requires a different skill - patience, which I do not have," he confided. The former cricketing great said, " Sourav Ganguly is one of the greatest captain India has ever produced. I think this is not the way to treat such a great player. Had I been in his place I would have said to the cricket board, 'Thank you very much! I am going'. Citing the case of Steve Waugh he said that if you don not want a person as captain you should tell him clearly.” In the ICC Champions Trophy he said though Australia were favourites, however, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka also have good chances of doing well. The dashing cricketer had a word of praise for Lucknow as well. “It is the City of Nawabs and the city to be in.” Also View In-Depth Coverage: ICC Champions Trophy 2006 Team Page: India Team Page: Pakistan | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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