Wasim Akram: Sad that people still use my name to promote themselves

Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram has claimed that "some people" still use his name to "promote" themselves, a reference to ex-opener Aamir Sohail who has blamed the pace great for Pakistan not winning the World Cup since 1992. "Whenever I hear these negative things about myself I feel very sad that it has been 17 years since I retired but even today they are some people using my name to promote themselves," Akram said on a web show. Wasim said even he could say a lot of negative things about others but refrained from doing so.

"I can also make negative comments about these people but what purpose will it serve. That is why I keep quiet. I just think about the respect and love I have earned from the people over the years and even 17 years after retirement," he said. Sohail, who is also a former Pakistan captain, has claimed that Akram's job as captain in the 1996 and 19999 World Cup and as a senor player in the 2003 edition was to ensure that Pakistan never repeated their 1992 title-winning feat.

"It's very simple. Put the 1992 World Cup to one side and talk about the 1996 World Cup. In 1995, Ramiz Raja was captain. Saleem Malik was the captain before that, he was very successful and if he could have spent one more year as captain then Wasim would not have been leading the side," Sohail was quoted as saying by Dawn. "If you look at what happened till 2003, there was this persistence before every World Cup to remove the captain and put Wasim Akram in that role...Look, the biggest contribution by Wasim Akram for Pakistan cricket was making sure Pakistan does not win a World Cup after 92," he added.

Former Pakistan pacer Ata ur Rehman and former PCB chiefs, Khalid Mahmood and Lt General (retd) Tauqir Zia, have also mentioned Akram's name while discussing the match-fixing allegations of the 90s and the Justice Malik Qayyum report.

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