Bengaluru: Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar criticised International Cricket Council (ICC), saying that the apex body has ‘successfully’ finished cricket in the last ten years.
In a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo, Akhtar expressed his agony about the bouncer rule which needs to be relaxed for the fast bowlers in white-ball cricket.
“Can I tell you something bluntly?. They (ICC) are finishing the cricket and they have quite successfully done that. For the last 10 years, I am openly saying that ICC successfully have finished the cricket purposely and I would say job well-done guys,” Akhtar told Sanjay Manjrekar in the videocast.
The Rawalpindi Express feels that the number of bouncers in an over should be increased as now there are two new balls in the limited-overs format.
“I have been saying this for the past ten years that they should relax the bouncer rule for the fast bowlers. As long as you don’t have the kind of battles like Sachin versus Shoaib where will you get your following from?” he added
Akhtar also said that he wishes that Indian skipper Virat Kohli could have played against some of the top bowlers in the game.
“I really wish that he (Kohli) had played against Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shane Warne, and then Virat would have also enjoyed the challenge,” he added.
Akhtar played 224 matches for Pakistan in international cricket and took 444 wickets across all formats.
Last week, the ICC issued guidelines for safely resuming cricket and the body said that chartered flights should be used for travel for some period of time.
The ICC also said that international teams should strongly consider travelling with a medical doctor. Travelling teams should ensure necessary arrangements are in place to support a team member should they test positive while on tour.
Currently, all international cricket has been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.