By Omar Khalid,IANS,
Karachi : Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram fears flat tracks like the one made for the first cricket Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at the National Stadium here will give another reason to the leading teams to stay away from Pakistan.
Akram told reporters Wednesday that Pakistan will have to make more sporting pitches to lure wavering teams, who have stayed away from the country in recent times because of security concerns, to come and play Test cricket here.
“This wicket remains a mystery to me,” said Wasim, who took 414 wickets in 104 Tests and 502 wickets from 356 one-day internationals.
“I mean we were having a test after 14 months and even for that such a dead track was made. I think we will have to make better wickets in future to ensure that top teams return here for international cricket.”
Wasim said that Pakistan should give its captain Younis Khan the power to ask for any kind of track he wants for home games.
“In the past when Imran, Javed, I and Inzamam-ul-Haq captained the side, we were given the sort of wickets we wanted. I believe Younis should also get similar powers,” he said.
The National Stadium wicket has been the talking point of the first Test which saw Sri Lanka making 644-7 declared in the first innings and Pakistan replying with a mammoth 765-6 declared.
Akram was also praise for Younis Khan’s 313 that saved the Test for Pakistan. “It was a brilliant knock,” said Wasim. “The skills, technique and stamina in Younis was evident from that innings,” he said.