New Delhi, April 14:

For the first time after Pakistan’s debacle in the World Cup, legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram has blasted Inzamam-ul-Haq for his autocratic behaviour in leading the team.

“Inzy definitely had become a dictator. He had obviously become very powerful. I know for a fact that coach Bob Woolmer and the foreign back-up staff would approach him for leave,” said Akram. “I have seen senior Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials sitting at his residence and awaiting orders. These things are not good for cricket.”

Inzamam announced his retirement from one-day cricket and resigned as Test captain on March 18, the same day when Woolmer was found murdered in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica. Pakistan suffered a first-round exit from the World Cup after losing to the hosts West Indies and minnows Ireland.

The debacle has thrown Pakistan cricket in turmoil and its cricket board is having a tough time in selecting the captain. Vice-captain Younis Khan has already rejected the offer to lead the team while Mohammed Yousuf has shown his interest to don the captain’s cap.

According to Akram, Yousuf and Shoaib Mallik are the best possible candidates for the post of captain. “The only ones who can handle the job are Yousuf and Shoaib. Shoaib is a good choice. He is young and he is talented. We should back him and groom this lad. I don’t think we have much of a choice, if Younis is not interested,” Akram said.

Akram also added that Younis would have been a good choice to succeed Inzamam. “But if he (Younis) has indeed been making those comments about absolute power and control, then Younis is silly. For any captain, he must first win the trust of his team mates, get some wins under his belt and power will automatically come. You don’t have to clamour for power,” he said.

Akram also rejected former captain and coach Javed Miandad’s comments that captains must not be given full authority. “Javed has been my mentor but I sometimes don’t understand what he says. When he was captain, Javed bhai wanted full control and now he is saying something else. In India and Pakistan, a captain must be the boss because he is the man leading the team on the field. Of course, there must be healthy interaction between captain and the selectors. The rest will fall in place,” he said.

Akram also slammed the PCB for the way it is being run. “For the last seven years, there’s been no system in the PCB. Ad-hocism doesn’t work and that’s the reason why people like Imran Khan don’t want to get associated. In any case, Imran now is a politician first and then a cricketer. He will not take up a post in a body that is under the Pakistan president,” Akram said.