Pakistan's Wasim Akram backs Duncan Fletcher as the new Indian coach: Cricket news
Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has come out in support of the newly appointed Indian coach Duncan Fletcher and said that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had taken a good step by choosing the former Zimbabwean captain as the new coach of the Indian team.
The BCCI announced this week that Fletcher would be the one to replace Gary Kirsten, who decided to call it quits after the successful World Cup campaign.
Akram, who is widely regarded as the best left-arm fast bowler in the history of the game, said that Fletcher was the best choice after Kirsten primarily because of his experience of coaching at the highest level of the game.
He said that his former team-mate and new ball partner, Waqar Younis had played under the coaching of Fletcher in county cricket, and expressed that Younis used to applaud the coaching abilities of Fletcher.
He said, "After Gary Kirsten, Fletcher is the best man to be India’s mentor. Fletcher is very experienced and has vast knowledge. Waqar (Younis), who played in Glamorgan when Fletcher was coach, praised his coaching skills a lot."
The appointment of Fletcher has been widely criticised in India as former greats Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar wanted an Indian to take over the job. However, Akram believes that it is always good to have a foreign coach for sub-continental teams, as they do not involve themselves into the internal politics of the team which is usually the case with Indian and Pakistani teams.
India are scheduled to tour England later this year and Wasim believes that Fletcher’s experience of coaching the English team will be extremely useful for India. The former left-arm fast bowler thinks that it will be tough for India to beat England on their home soil but Fletcher’s services would be handy there.
Akram told reporters, "Fletcher has done plenty of coaching in England, and he knows their players very well. Beating England at their backyard will be tough but Fletcher’s presence in the Indian dressing room will be a huge advantage."
There is a lot of talk in the media about the world champions' new coach but only time will tell what Fletcher has to offer to Indian cricket.
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