Wasim Akram said that Indian bowlers have not been able to use the art as well as their English counterparts are, in the ongoing Test series, says a report in The Times of India.
"Look at the state of the ball in Calcutta when the two teams were bowling. When India had the ball it was average looking. Nobody was bothering to shine the ball, or take responsibility for keeping it dry” he said.
"When England bowled it was different. One side of the ball was shiny and the other dry. I think England have realised that you have to sprint in to bowl reverse swing. Compare them both to Ishant and Zaheer. England's bowlers were sprinting,” he added.
Akram said that it was important that a pacer knows his ball. "Learn how to look after the cricket ball itself and also know your ball. The Kookaburra will take 40-50 overs to reverse, the Duke about 30 overs and the SG (which is used in India) will take about 10-15 overs. All these details every bowler should know,” Akram said.
"The way they bowled tells me England will only get better in this series because they have the knowledge of reverse swing. To me it looked like the Pakistan team were playing out there, it really did,” he added.
Meanwhile, another report in TOI says that Akram criticised left-arm pacer Zaheer Khan and said he looked unfit during the series.
"The on-going transition within the Indian squad has seen pace spearhead Zaheer Khan axed from the side after picking up just four wickets in three Tests versus England so far.
"Despite skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni publicly backing Zaheer, saying he was bowling in the right areas, it has been his alarming lack of pace that has left the English batsmen untroubled," he said.
"It seems to me that Zaheer's main problem stems from his fitness levels. His run-up is slow and lethargic while his follow-through is almost non-existent. Compare this to the English pacers,James Anderson and Steven Finn. They bowled their hearts out every delivery, constantly touched speeds of 140 kmph,” he added.
