TORONTO, 18 June 2005 — The famous two Ws of Pakistan — Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram — dispelled the notion that Sachin Tendulkar and Shoaib Akhtar are spent force and said they both are likely to be back on track very soon.
“Sachin is still the legend of the game,” said Waqar in an interview here Sunday. “Tendulkar has served his country for nearly 15 years with tremendous success. He played more than 100 Test matches. He is a dedicated cricketer and I think he will stay in the game for many more years.”
Waqar also spoke highly of Shoaib Akhtar’s bowling capabilities and said he has a great future ahead. “Shoaib, the ‘Rawalpindi Express’, will be playing for Worcestershire this season and I hope he will prove his worth as a genuine and effective pace bowler.”
Like Waqar, Wasim Akram in a separate interview, also said that India’s Little Master Tendulkar and Shoaib Akhtar of Pakistan are still the great players. “They are young. And they both have great desire to perform even better in days to come.”
Waqar and Wasim, both former captains of Pakistan, are currently in Canada in connection with Zindagi Trust’s fundraising drive in North America.
Three other Pakistani cricketers — skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi and Yousuf Youhana were also due here to attend the fundraising dinner but they could not make it because of some unavoidable circumstances.
According to Lt. Gen. Munir Hafiez, the NAB Chairman, Inzamam could not get a US visa and that’s why he returned home from Jamaica. Hafiez, who is also Patron-in-Chief of Zindagi Trust, said here Afridi and Youhana could not come to North America because of the serious illness of their fathers.
Zindagi Trust founded by Pakistan’s famous singer Shehzad Roy is helping underprivileged children of his country.
Wasim Akram and Waqar auctioned a cricket bat and a ball and also asked Canadian philanthropists to donate generously for this noble cause. They had also brunch today with a good number donors.
Wasim and Waqar praised Pakistan team’s recent performance in West Indies.
When pointed out that two former Pakistan Test cricketers had recently opined that Inzamam’s side had a great chance of beating Caribbeans on their soil, Wasim said: “Let us take team’s performance positively. They swept One-Day series and had a magnificent fightback to draw the Test series 1-1.”
Zaheer Abbas and Sarfraz had praised Pakistan for their series-levelling win but said the team missed a ‘golden opportunity’ to seize a first-ever series win in the Caribbean. “Winning a Test after coming from behind is always great but the West Indies team is now a shadow of the team which ruled the world. Their fast bowlers are not as venomous as they were when we toured there in 1976, so for me it’s a chance of lifetime lost,” Zaheer was quoted as saying. Another former great, pace bowler Sarfraz Nawaz, said Pakistan should have “whitewashed” the West Indians.
Wasim said: “To me, the team’s performance was more than satisfactory. It did not lose the Test series. It scored heartwarming wins in One-dayers.”
In Waqar’s opinion Pakistan’s side was favorite to win both the Tests it played against West Indies but the team missed key players, including Inzamam,Youhana and Shoaib Malik in the first Test at Barbados. And their absence made the difference. “I think Pakistan team played extremely well and each player deserves compliments,” he said.
The 34-year-old Waqar who was often called as “the Burewala Express” said: “Pakistan team is definitely getting better and better day by day. It’s gaining maturity.
