London, August 04: Legendary Pakistan pacer Wasim Akram has backed under-fire Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni after India conceded a 0-2 lead to England in the ongoing four-match npower Test series stating that Dhoni could not 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 not say that he has failed, rather we can just say that it is a wake-up call for him,” Akram was quoted as saying by ‘Mobile ESPN’.
The former Pakistan left-arm seamer also supported Dhoni’s decision to bowl first in the second Test at Trent Bridge where India lost by a huge margin of 319 runs, which many experts including former India skipper Sourav Ganguly slammed.
“There was a lot of grass on the morning of Day one, 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.
Akram believed that the return of explosive opening batsman Virender Sehwag in the third Test at Edgbaston would boost the visitor’s batting line-up and make a world of difference in the outcome of the match.
“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,” he said.
“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,” Akram added.