Wasim Akram Feels Mohammed Shami Should Improve His Run-up

Former Pakistan fast bowler and arguably one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, Wasim Akram feels the Indian pacers might play a big part in the upcoming tour of England if Mohammed Shami corrects his flaw in the run-up and speedster Jasprit Bumrah gives some important time to county cricket.

“Shami is a good bowler, but sometimes I feel he is a bit laidback. As a fast bowler, irrespective of the match situation, he should just sprint in and try to hurry the batsmen, who have a front foot trigger movement,” Akram was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times.

When asked to elaborate on the technical issues, Akram explained the nitty-gritty of fast bowling which will eventually help Shami to make his run up more consistently.

“During his run-up, Shami, at times, tends to take small strides before his final load up to the crease. Now when he is in rhythm, his strides are correct and equally measured but the moment he gets a bit wayward, his strides get smaller. It should always be the opposite,” he said.

Akram further stated that reducing the strides resulted in the loss of pace for the pacers.

“When the length of the stride decreases, a person’s bowling action doesn’t get completed. The force that is generated from the back goes missing, and one loses out on a lot of pace,” said Akram, who picked 414 Test and a whopping.

Akram further added Shami should start working on his work on lower body muscles. The speedster agreed Akram had a dodgy knee and said it was indeed a genuine concern.

“That will be an issue with Shami. If you look at Shoaib Akhtar, he struggled with a dodgy knee. I suppose he has to work on the lower body muscles.”

Former Windies pacer Michael Holding stated Jasprit Burmah is unlikely to be a big success in England mainly due to his hit the deck action. However the left-arm pacer sad it is something which can be worked upon.

“I agree with Mike that you can’t hit the deck on English surfaces but that would only come with experience. Look the BCCI doesn’t allow the Indian boys (main international stars) to play county cricket.

“If Bumrah plays at least a month of the county every year, trust me, he will be a better bowler. But then Indian board has to tell Bumrah that forego a month’s IPL and play county cricket,” said Akram. However, he agrees that Bumrah will get better with more experience.

“He has had a good start to his Test career after starting off as a T20 specialist. So it’s a kind of change in mindset that is slowly happening for him. If people are talking about not having an outswinger, I won’t be bothered much.

“But if Bumrah can learn how to straighten the ball after pitching coming from wide off the crease, more often than not, it will be his wicket-taking delivery. He just needs to use a bit of wrists for that,” the ‘Sultan of Swing’ made it sound easier than it actually is.

He is of the opinion that Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the best Indian bowler on display.

“Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been the most impressive pacer in South Africa as far as my assessment goes. He was getting the ball to swing both ways. And with increased pace now, he has become all the more effective,” Akram said.

“This Indian pace attack has potential to do well in England. They were very impressive in South Africa with the kookaburra which is a difficult ball to bowl with, so Dukes which does a lot after pitching will be an easier for them,” Akram concluded.

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