Akram believes Dhoni must be smarter in choosing his squads for future series

Pakistan pace bowling legend Wasim Akram has lashed out at India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni for his selection policy throughout the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Twenty20.

Akram stated that India failed to make it past the super 8 stages since they did not have a balanced team.

Akram also failed to understand why Dhoni had left veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh out of the lineup in the final game India played against South Africa.

ESPNStar.com quoted Akram as saying: “I am puzzled with the way the Indian team management has picked playing XIs. For example, I feel a wicket-taking bowler like Harbhajan Singh was missed against the ragged South Africans.”

Despite winning their match against the Proteas by one run, Akram still questioned Dhoni’s decision to allow pace bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji to bowl the final over.

“There is a lesson in every defeat. For India, there are genuine concerns about its bowling and, of course, top order batting. A team is world class only when it is complete in every respect. India’s batting is one of the strongest in the world, but if you are expecting Zaheer Khan or a Balaji to win you a tight match every day, think again. Giving Balaji the last over against South Africa was suicidal. A bowler on a comeback is always short of confidence and I think India were lucky to win by a run,” he said.

Akram further mentioned that veteran pace bowler Zaheer Khan should not be playing in all formats of the game, and must choose which one he is most committed to.

“I have said before that Zaheer has to choose the format of cricket he wants to play. I can’t see him running in hard every ball and bamboozling batsmen with pace and movement. India must find replacements and very soon at that. India need fresh legs and stronger shoulders because they will be playing a series of matches at home from November,” Akram added.

Akram also noted that India seemed to rely on their veteran bowlers rather than give their youngsters like Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron a chance to shine.

“Where is Umesh Yadav? And Varun Aaron seems to be a forgotten name. With the new selection committee in place, both Umesh and Varun should be groomed to power India’s pace battery. I hear Varun is injured. I think the BCCI needs to get after him and pull him out of his problems. At least Umesh should have been in the T20 squad,” Akram said.