'PCB does not know how to take care': Shoaib Akhtar talks about Imran Nazir, says cricketer more talented than Sehwag

Former Pakistan fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar is balming the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for wasting talent like Imran Nazir. The bowler said that Nazir had more talent than Virender Sehwag, but he fizzled away after a bright start.

“I don’t think Imran Nazir had the brain that Sehwag had. I don’t think Sehwag had the talent that Imran Nazir had. Nazir had more talent, there is no comparison with regards to talent. We tried to contain him a little,” Akhtar was quoted as saying on a TV show by Cricket Pakistan.

The pacer blamed PCB for not using Nazir the right way. He said that Nazir was not groomed and he could have been a better player than Sehwag. “When he hit a brutal hundred against India in a match, I asked them to play Imran Nazir consistently but they didn’t listen,” he said.

“It is unfortunate that we do not know how to take care of our brands. We could have had a player better than Virender Sehwag in Imran Nazir. He had all the shots while also being a good fielder. We could have utilised him brilliantly but we just couldn’t,” Akhtar added.

Imran Nazir looked like a match-winner, but fitness and indifferent form saw him feature in only just 8 Tests, 79 ODIs and 25 T20Is for Pakistan. In the three formats, Nazir scored 427, 1895, and 500 runs respectively.