Arguably, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli and the ex-skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni are one of the best batsmen India has ever produced. The duo has been sensational over the years with over 10,000 runs in ODI format of the game. Meanwhile, Wasim Akram, who never faced Kohli or MS Dhoni, revealed his bowling plans in case if he played in their era.
Wasim Akram was a part of the duo that literally terrorised batsmen. Batsmen would have to be extremely cautious while playing them because judging the ball was a major problem, a difficulty faced even by the legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar.
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If he was good with a new bowl, he was menacing with an old bowl with his reverse swing. His bouncer would hurt your head and yorker would crush your toes. His pace will frighten you and speed variation would deceive you. Besides that, Wasim Akram is a great tactician.
I will bowl away-swingers – Wasim Akram
Meanwhile, speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Wasim Akram explained every detail when he was asked to give his thoughts on bowling to Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. His explanation seems perfect as well.
For Virat Kohli, Wasim Akram wants to keep bowling those regular out-swingers by bowling from around the wicket. He added that he would be comfortable when the ball is reversing. For MS Dhoni, Wasim Akram wants to bowl out-swinging-yorker, which might induce a leading edge.
“It depends on the pitch, on the conditions. If it is reverse-swinging, I would have been comfortable. I probably would have gone around the wicket to Virat and just bowled these awayswingers from the middle,” Akram was quoted saying by ESPNCricinfo.
“For Dhoni – I would have bowled outswing yorkers, not inswing. Because if anyone bowled inswing to him, he would have gone with his famous helicopter shot. With the away swinger, I have a chance. Probably he would have top-edged,” Akram explained in the same interview.
Well, it seems like Wasim Akram is on point regarding his analysis. There were many occasions when Virat Kohli was troubled with those edges. However, it would be interesting to see whether the plan works for MS Dhoni or not.