Wasim Akram Predicts Pakistan's 3-0 Loss to England: It's Not Rocket Science
Wasim Akram did not bother with diplomacy. Long before Pakistan’s current tour of England began, the former captain says he could already see the scoreline.
“I knew before the series we were going to lose 3-0 to England,” he told The Athletic.
Two Tests in, Pakistan trail 0-2 and have barely laid a glove on the hosts. The margins on the scoreboard only confirm what the eye has seen: a side out of its depth in all three disciplines.
“Our batting is struggling, our bowling is below average and our fielding is worse. It’s not rocket science,” Akram said.
Those words carry extra weight coming from a man who helped Pakistan dominate these conditions. Akram was central to three consecutive Test series wins in England, in 1987, 1992 and 1996, captaining the side in the last of those triumphs. He knows what a hardened, streetwise Pakistan team looks like on English soil. This is not it.
Shockwaves after PCB’s drastic overhaul
The performances have been poor. The reaction has been brutal.
After the second Test, the Pakistan Cricket Board ripped through the touring party. Seven players were sent home. Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and his entire staff were sacked mid-series, a move that startled observers around the game.
Akram’s response mixes sympathy with a familiar frustration.
He says he feels for the players, yet insists they cannot be absolved.
“In Pakistan we have a saying: ‘You can only clap with two hands’,” he said, pointing to a shared responsibility between those on the field and those running the sport.
He is repeatedly asked if he can “do something” to help Pakistan cricket. His answer is blunt: the problems run far deeper than a quick fix from a former great.
“These are the top players, there’s nothing else there. The systems aren’t there below that,” he said. The domestic first-class structure, he argued, has lurched from one model to another in recent years, leaving players without a stable pathway or clear standards.
“The first-class structure domestically has been all over the place the last few years and there’s no consistency, no patience.”
That chaos, he believes, seeps into the stands as well.
“That dribbles down to the fans, too. They see the team lose and they want to rip it all up, too. We’ve done that so many times and now there is nothing really left,” Akram said.
The PCB’s latest cull only underlines his point: another reset, another attempt to start from scratch, with a third Test still to play.
Akram’s concern for Imran Khan: ‘There can be no compromise’
Away from the dressing room and selection meetings, Akram’s thoughts have also turned to another former captain — and a close friend.
Imran Khan’s political and legal battles have dominated headlines in Pakistan, but Akram cut through the noise to focus on one issue.
“I haven't spoken to him for three years. It's so unfortunate, politically, what's happening with him. The court of law is the court of law. But as far as his health is concerned, there can be no compromise on that,” he said.
Akram noted that there is “a movement in England and elsewhere” to improve Imran’s conditions. Inside Pakistan, he is less certain.
“Here (in Pakistan)? I'm not so sure,” he admitted.
What followed was not the voice of an analyst, but of a friend.
“I'm speaking from the heart as someone who is worried about him as a person. Convicted or not convicted. Jail or no jail. We need to safeguard his health. We don't know what's happening, the government are saying his health apparently is fine. But I'm worried. I miss him a lot.”
As Pakistan stumble towards a likely 3-0 defeat in England and another round of soul-searching at home, Akram stands in a familiar, uncomfortable place: defending the game he loves, questioning the structures that surround it, and fearing for the wellbeing of the man who once led it.
