Cricket is a global game now: Wasim Akram

Dubai, Jan 28 : Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram said cricket is a global game now and that he is looking ahead to the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2010 that is due to take place next month in the United Arab Emirates.

Former Pakistan captain Akram talks about ICC's development programme on this week's ICC Cricket World audio show.

He says: "Cricket is a global game now and the ICC is doing a great job by taking cricket to the likes of China, Afghanistan, Canada and spreading it in Europe as well. There are a lot of expats living in Europe and cricket is getting big in the USA.

"I think Twenty20 is the only format that can help popularise cricket in these nations. This format works well to introduce to the new countries as we need to globalise the game before you go onto introducing other formats."

Wasim also commented on the work of his former team-mate and current Afghanistan coach Kabir Khan, who also appears on the show this week.

"I've been very impressed with the way Afghanistan has played under the guidance of Kabir and also the way he is working as a coach. It's really good to see him succeed."


Apart from the above interview, this week's ICC Cricket World includes a discussion with Simon Doull on the ongoing ICC U19 Cricket World Cup in New Zealand, where the former New Zealand player is a part of the ESPN STAR Sports commentary team. The former Blackcaps' member talks about the players who are the ones to watch in the future.

Looking ahead at the final, Doull said: "There's immense talent in the Pakistan team. They always seem to throw up players who are 16 and 17 years old and are incredibly talented. Mitchell Marsh for Australia also looks very talented and it should be a terrific final."

Former Pakistan fast bowler Kabir Khan, talking about his experience of coaching Afghanistan, said: "When I took over the team, they had the talent right from the start and they were hard-working. But they didn't knew how to cope with the pressure and how to have a game plan. In the past they didn't have an international coach and my plan was to share as much information with them as possible and it seems to have worked so far."

There is also a round-up of the last seven days in other cricket, including and an update on the Reliance Mobile ICC Player Rankings.