London: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram is happy to find Rudra Pratap Singh in the Indian team and has suggested that the left-arm pacer should be inducted into the playing XI ahead of Sreesanth along with Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar.
“I am happy to see RP Singh’s return to the Indian team. He is a good replacement for Zaheer and is one bowler who can really trouble the English batsmen. His upright, seam-up action helps the ball slant easily and India will be tempted to play him ahead of Sreesanth,” Akram wrote in his column for www.espnstar.com.
“Ishant and Praveen will complete the pace troika but this duo must not lose heart when a partnership is building. Having said this, I would have loved to see Laxmipathy Balaji in England. He swings the ball well and can work up a decent pace too.”
The legendary pacer was very critical about Indian team’s body language terming it one of the most listless teams of recent times.
“I have never seen such a listless Indian side in recent times. The team has been just going through the motion and at Trent Bridge, the Indians gave the impression that they had thrown in the towel on Day 4 itself. Is this the sign of a team that’s No. 1 in the Test rankings? “Drooping shoulders, stingless bowling and schoolboy-like batting have made India look like a team that has no pride. This is not the India that we wanted to see in England.”
Akram made no bones about the fact save veterans Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and to some extent Sachin Tendulkar have showed their class.
“Tours like England actually tell you the class and depth of a team. Except for Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and to a small extent Sachin Tendulkar, there is not much to write home about the current squad. “I would reckon English conditions are the toughest in the world. England is more challenging than South Africa or Australia,” he added.
“So as a batsman, you can never be at peace on English pitches. One has to play each ball on its merit. One can forget the fuller length balls. Guys like Yuvraj and Raina may be hugely talented players but till they can handle seaming conditions with flair, they can’t be called complete batsmen,” he further added.
“Too much is being made of Tendulkar scoring his 100th international century. For me, the team’s success is more important. (PTI)