Facing criticism after India conceded a 0-2 lead to England in the ongoing Test series, skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has found much-needed support in Pakistan pace legend Wasim Akram, who feels he cannot be written off on the basis of a couple of defeats.
“You cannot write him off on the basis of two losses. He has won the World Cup for India and has also done well in most parts of the world. Yes, one thing that Dhoni needs to take care of, are his keeping skills. We can’t say that he has failed, rather we can just say that it is a wake-up call for him,” Akram told Mobile ESPN .
Many experts, including former India skipper Sourav Ganguly, have slammed Dhoni’s decision to bowl first in the second Test at Nottingham, which India lost by 319 runs, but Akram begs to differ.
“There was a lot of grass on the morning of day 1, so Dhoni went by his instincts and I believe he was right to bowl first. Everybody has an opinion but I feel, as a bowler, I would have loved to bowl on that track,” he said. “I think the ninth-wicket partnership between Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann made the difference, otherwise the move was going as per plan,” he added.
India is pinning their comeback hopes on the return of Virender Sehwag for the third Test in Birmingham starting on August 10 and Akram believes his presence will make a world of a difference.
“Sehwag’s presence will certainly bolster the Indian batting. He has not played cricket for a while but he is a kind of batsman who can be very dangerous. “Both Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir form an incredible opening duo for Team India. So I hope they are genuinely fit and help out the team,” said Akram.
