NAIROBI, October 11: Wasim Akram, like our very own Dev Anand, will never tire. He looks at the mirror and says, ``I can feel the fitness. If I am selective, like Allan Donald, and play in only important matches and tours, I can very easily play in the next World Cup.''That would mean Akram would have played in five World Cups, if at all he decides there could be far easier ways to earn his living after the 2003 Cup, by which time he would be 37.This is the same Akram who has come out of retirement not once but twice. ``I have never enjoyed myself as I am doing right now. If I can bowl and bat well, I am not a liability on the field, why should I stop when I have cricket left in me,'' is his theory.``The Pakistan team is doing well and it is my duty to guide the youngsters by showing them the way.''Akram is clearly the most-sought after player in the team. Fellow seamers Abdur Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood, though they bowl with the right arm, listen to whatever the master left-armer says. They talk about the slower ball, the yorker, the bouncer. The three also discuss the latest Hindi films.Teammate Inzamam-ul-Haq feels Akram is too great a bowler, even for a batsman as talented as him. Even as Inzy, or Saaed Anwar or Yousuf Youhana, come out to bat in the nets, Akram warns the batsman and plots his dismissal ``whenever and wherever he wants to.'' A pity then, there are only six balls in an over, Akram can go on with his entire spell without bowling two deliveries similar. ``You don't master it in a day, it takes years and years of practice to attain this level. You also need to be confident.'' There's not a single cricketer more confident than Akram, who thinks his pshychiatrist wife Huma has helped him calm down and enjoy the twilight of his glorious career.Akram joined the 400-Test wicket club in Sri Lanka this summer and thinks ``a go at Courteny Walsh's record (he is nearing the 500-Summit) won't be a crazy idea. But again, it depends on how I pick and chose matches from now.'' For the records, Akram is the only one to have taken 400 wickets in ODIs too.Akram has also given his consent to English county Gloucestershire's offer of becoming a bowling consultant with them next year. ``That's what I am looking at now. They don't want me full time so I can also concentrate on Pakistani cricket. Pakistan is touring England next summer so I can play both the roles.``If I have to play for the next few years, I know it's not going to be easy without proper training. The younger guys in the team push me to put in more and I enjoy the workouts. It's fun now without any captaincy pressures,'' he says.Akram has a word of praise for skipper Moin Khan who he thinks is doing a wonderful job. Moin thinks it won't have been easy but for the inputs Akram gives him from time to time. ``Wasim bhai has no hangups. You can walk upto him and ask him anything. We are lucky that he shares his experience with us,'' Moin shoots back.Akram feels the current lot is one of the best Pakistani sides ever. Right now, he is confident, Pakistan are the best side in the world. ``I am also impressed with India's new players. I saw Zaheer bowl and he looks talented. I would like to correct his action though so he is welcome anytime,'' Akram hopes the sub-continent teams zoom off again.
