Akram pleads for Pak-India series

NEW DELHI (Agencies) - Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram feels that India and Pakistan taking on each other on the sports field would prepare players from both the sides to handle pressure. Akram, who represented his country in 104 Tests and 356 ODIs between 1985 and 2003, wanted India and Pakistan to engage in sports at all levels. We should have regular contests in all sports from the under-16, under-19 levels. India-Pakistan games are pressure games. Once a player knows how to handle the pressure in these matches, he can play against all other teams, said the 45-year-old Akram. About Akhtars comment on Tendulkar and Dravid, Akram joked that the former Pakistani pacer was lacking in brains. Batsmen of the calibre of Tendulkar and Dravid are not afraid of fast bowlers. At times they may just block a bowler like me to preserve their wickets, he said. Asked about the most memorable moments in his cricket career, Akram, one of the best-ever left-arm fast bowlers in the history of the game, singled out three instances. Our World Cup victory in 1992 (under Imran Khan), and the Test series victory over (hosts) India in 1987 (Pakistans maiden one) and our wins in India in 1999, he said. Pakistan defeated India at Chennai before the hosts avenged the defeat in Delhi in the two-Test rubber. In another Test immediately afterwards in Kolkata, part of the now defunct Asian Test Championship, the visitors vanquished the home team.

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