Akram begins his stint as a bowling coach, unofficially

The BCCI hadn’t expected the news of Akram’s arrangement with the Indian team to leak as quickly as it did, and both the BCCI and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were caught on the wrong foot. Following the filing of a PIL in a Pakistani court against Akram’s ‘anti-national act’, the BCCI denied the connection, despite the PCB going on record saying that they didn’t have a problem with the arrangement. The BCCI top brass, expectedly, wanted to avoid being seen as the initiator of a political debate of sorts.

The ex-Pakistani captain himself, however, has kept his options open, and said that he has been ‘‘asked by Wright to help out the bowlers’’. He in fact went far as to say that if he is offered a contract he is ‘‘willing to consider it’’.

But a top BCCI official told The Indian Express on condition of anonymity that though the talk of a bowling coach has been going on for over a year, nothing concrete has been decided yet. ‘‘We will have to wait for some more time, for no one can take a decision without consulting the working committee,’’ he said.

The official reckoned that having a bowling coach would not mean any value addition to the team. ‘‘We will practically have another playing XI travelling with the team, with the physio, trainer, media manager, coach, manager and assistant manager too being present.’’

Irrespective of the official stances though, it appears that Akram will indeed be part of the Indian fast bowling set-up, even if it means in a ‘not official’ basis. And that could only mean a positive for Indian cricket.