19 January 2005	Wednesday	08 Zilhaj 1425

LAHORE, Jan 18: Former skipper Wasim Akram claimed that the results of the Pakistan team against Australia were not surprising and added the real test ahead of them was the Indian tour.

"No one was expecting victory on Australian tour, but, I believe Pakistan will give impressive performance in India and to me they can win as the pressure will be on the home side," Wasim Akram told journalists on Tuesday.

He said that the Indians could be in a relaxed mood as they would be meeting Pakistan after playing a series against lowly-rated Bangladesh while Pakistan against a strong one, Australia.

Wasim put his weight behind Inzamamul Haq's leadership which remained under criticism for producing poor results in Australia. "Inzamam is good human being and a quite man and he knows his job very well and those critics who are demanding his ouster made no sense to me," he said.

"First of all, they should give the alternative of Inzamam and if the change is vital a vice-captain should be appointed who be groomed by Inzamam for six months before replacing him," Wasim said, hinting Yousuf Youhana (current vice-captain) is not a suitable person to replace Inzamam.

He said that it was time to back up the team, since it was getting experience. "I can also criticize the team but it is not the right time, instead the team needs support and I think it will give positive results in next six to seven months," he said.

He said that Shoaib Akhtar had fitness problems and could not be an exemplary skipper. About Shoaib's short run-up, Wasim said that it did not matter. "Waqar Younis had also a long-run up but he was hungry for success so his run-up did not create any problem for him," he said.

He said that some critics criticised the new format of the One-day cup specially names assigned to the participating teams. "Our domestic cricket needed a change to attract people and I think the move succeeded as a good number of crowd watched first semi-finals," he said.