Dhoni should not lead in all three formats: Wasim Akram

E-Paper | June 13, 2026

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Wasim Akram feels there could be additional pressure on Dhoni as leader in all three formats. -Photo by Reuters

NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram said on Thursday that Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni must ask himself whether he should be leading India in all three formats of the game.

“I am not surprised that questions are being raised about Dhoni’s leadership skills after India failed to reach the semis of the ICC World T20. Perhaps Dhoni should take some time out and assess himself as a captain,” Wasim wrote in his column.

Wasim feels there could be additional pressure on Dhoni as a leader in all three formats of the game.

“I really think if he drops captaincy in one of the formats then he will be able to focus and enjoy his game more,” Wasim, who bagged 414 Test and 502 ODI wickets, said.

The legendary fast bowler, however, feels that Kohli who is being seen as the next Indian captain should not be rushed into the hot seat.—Agencies

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Amir

Oct 12, 2012 10:50pm

Lately Wasim Akram is too much involved with Indian cricket, he was an expert on TV for almost all Indian cricketing events. Although he is an international cricket expert but he is a Pakistani citizen to the best of my knowledge. He never or very rarely being involved with cricket that much. I wonder why?

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siraj

Oct 12, 2012 02:24pm

chill karien Mr. Syed.

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Saj

Oct 12, 2012 11:02pm

Exactly, what are you doing on Pakistani news form. Got it.

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murali

Oct 12, 2012 08:37am

agree 100% with Mr.Akram.

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Abdullah Hussain

Oct 13, 2012 03:00pm

Dear Wasim Akram please think what to do to up lift Team Pakistan. I fail to understand why you go on wielding your advisory wand to opponents, you are already a celebrity in India. Give some free advises to players of team Pakistan of which you were a part before.

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janjuah

Oct 13, 2012 08:14am

Mr Sharma Art and game are not anyone's property. They bring nationions close to each other...why are you still stuck in 1946-47. Grow up and look around what has changed.

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Tez

Oct 13, 2012 08:25am

Wasim Akram actually rates Dhoni very highly, and all he was saying is that Dhoni needs to take a break from one of the 3 games (i'd prefer taking him out of 20/20), so he can enjoy playing cricket more and IMO play more effectively! Pakistani's respect Dhoni not only as an Indian Captain but as a person too! But Captaincy especially for a fanatic cricket nation such as India can definitely become a burden, thus Indian board need to think of taking the exhausting pressure off him, and let him enjoy his cricket too! So to the Indian Audience, Wasim Akram was actually thinking about Dhoni's welfare than his skill level!

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Terry

Oct 12, 2012 08:01pm

Mr.Sharma, Many teams take the advise of Wasim Akram, Tendulkar, Dravid etc. because they are the finest cricketers. You should not get upset on these things.

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Rehan

Oct 13, 2012 08:26am

Everyone has a right of opinion. Wasim Akram unfortunately has alot of opinions for alot of players, boards and dictating terms of how things should be. It's now getting painful Wasim bhai. How many of your tactics do go down as acknowledged? Zilch!

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Iqbal

Oct 13, 2012 07:08am

Wasim akram should help solve the problem of captaincy with T20 Pakistan team. Every player made captain including Hafiz have lost their main skill whether batting or bowling. T20 can be played with 10 players. PCB should make wasim Akram or an ex player like zaheer abbas T20 Captain . Let the players perform their batting and bowling job instead of losing their performance as Captain.

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siraj

Oct 12, 2012 02:12pm

some folks are being defensive ! i like it :) If indian reporters can write about Pakistan on cricinfo ,why cant Wasim make a comment ?

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G.Sharma

Oct 12, 2012 10:06am

There are enough Senior Indian Cricketers to advise what Indian Captain should do or not. It would be better if Wasim Akram concentrates on Pakistan Cricket.

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Ajay

Oct 12, 2012 06:43pm

I agree with the Great Wasim Bhai

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wahab

Oct 13, 2012 04:14am

if you people can write about our cricket then why cant we?you are not better then us just look at the head to head win/lose ratio in all three formats we are better off,plus if that's the fact then why are you reading pakistan news platform stay away and read your own country's news nuf said

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Jamil

Oct 13, 2012 04:17am

Sharma Sahib, A very valuable advise for your team for free. You should be thankful to a great legend Waseem Akram. You should have appreciated him but again you maintained Indian mentality by spitting the venom as usual. Practically, Waseem Akram's scrutiny is not questionable as he has given a very good advise to Dhoni. I believe that Dhoni will take it as a good piece of advice and will act upon it.

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Neeraj

Oct 12, 2012 03:25pm

Get a life mate, he is an international cricketer

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Mandeep

Oct 13, 2012 01:59am

Wasim Akram is widely respected in India. It is his opinion. We may or may not agree with him. His argument is strong. It won`t hurt Indian cricket.

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Munir Butt

Oct 12, 2012 11:07pm

Wasim Akram is on of the best alrounder this game has ever produced, instead of being sarcastic of his opinion why not calm down and try to understand, or because this advise is from the other side of the border . If i was Dhoni then i would play moderately since there is more cricket being played in these days than it was before and human body has its limits playing all formats and giving good perfomance is impossible.

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anand

Oct 12, 2012 08:46pm

Mr Sharma, Wasim Akram is a great cricketer and he certainly has the intellectual acumen to comment on our cricketers & we must respect his opinion or criticize, if required , only on merits.I am a cricketer myself & have a great regard for Wasim Akram. Ye aapne baut choti baat kah di.

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Arunkumar

Oct 13, 2012 09:09am

He is an international legendry cricketer and irrespective of nationality he should be respected.

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Joe

Oct 12, 2012 03:22pm

Then what are YOU doing here reading a "Pakistani Paper"!!? He is one of the best bowlers ever AND has earned a right to express his opinion. BTW, am an Indian :O

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S Jafri

Oct 12, 2012 05:32pm

you do realize that the fact that Zaheer Khan became a good bowler has a lot to do with his guidance as well.. so if you don't want his thoughts, don't ask him to teach them how to bowl either. You can go back to the days of Venkatesh Prasad as your spearhead.

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Alex

Oct 12, 2012 03:18pm

Ok, If this is a fair comment. Then how about taking the advice that Pakistan quit from international cricket. Its as bizarre.

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Umair S Khan

Oct 12, 2012 10:54am

Are you sure about this? Wasim Akram is an international cricketer....and like every international cricketer he is giving advise to a international team in order to maximize their performance. I do not see how Pakistan & India come into this... !!!!

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Syed Umar

Oct 12, 2012 10:53am

Mr. Sharma if your media asked the question from Mr Wasim Akram, he answered it well. But try to respect he was one the very best bowler of his time. if you can't take than just sh........

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Jawwad

Oct 12, 2012 03:08pm

You didn't seem to mind his services as coach to Kolkatta Knight Riders?

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suresh

Oct 12, 2012 11:47am

agreed wid waseem.

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