The Hindu : Akram feels it's time

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 06, 2003

Sport

Sport - World Cup

Akram feels it's time

Bulawayo March 5. One of the world's greatest fast bowlers Wasim Akram will hang up his boots once he returns home, saying the time has come for him to `take a bow' following Pakistan's disappointing performance in the World Cup.

``The time has come to take a bow. I've made up my mind, but would make a final announcement after reaching home,'' said Akram, the only bowler to have taken 500-plus wickets in one-day Internationals.

Akram also said he will not make himself available for selection for the triangular one-day series in Sharjah, starting on April 1 and also featuring South Africa and Sri Lanka.

``I want to go out with respect and grace. That's why I've decided not to make myself available for the Sharjah tournament.'' The 36-year-old left-arm speedster admitted that though he had enjoyed every match of the World Cup, he was very disappointed with the team's performance.

Akram said he had got a lot of fame, love and respect during his 18 years in international cricket and would like to continue to associate himself in some capacity with the sport.

He would also take a final decision on whether to accept an offer from English county Hampshire to play in the coming season, Akram said.

Asked about his appeal to lift the captaincy ban imposed in the wake of match-fixing allegations, Akram said his legal advisor was taking care of things and he would force the issue once he returned home.

Waqar hints at retirement

Devastated by his first and only assignment as Pakistan's World Cup skipper ending in humiliation and an early exit from the premier event, Waqar Younis has hinted at retirement too.

``Yes, we will sit down and discuss things. I also have to think about where I stand because this is one of the biggest disappointments of my life, the way we have performed in this World Cup,'' Waqar said.

The Pakistan captain said he had no excuses for his team's poor show and it did not deserve to be in the Super Sixes. ``The Board gave us the best possible facilities and support team. We just didn't perform to our potential. We played bad cricket.''

Waqar said he was obviously devastated that in his only opportunity to captain the team in the World Cup, things had gone so wrong.

Waqar admitted losing to India at Centurion was the biggest setback to the team. ``I don't think anyone in the team really thought it would go so wrong. But we just lost it as soon as India came out to bat.

``It's a defeat which will haunt me because we don't have cricket relations with India and we only played after three years. So that defeat was a big let down. And the bad weather in Bulawayo just about sums up what our World Cup campaign has been like,'' he said.

But he insisted that there was plenty of time before Pakistan's next international assignment to see where things had gone wrong and try to put them in the right order.

``We have had major problems with the batsmen being unable to cope with the bouncy tracks in South Africa. The bowlers have also not really delivered and have been expensive at times. These things need to be looked into and solutions need to be found.'' — PTI

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