{"id":9479,"date":"2007-08-22T11:12:19","date_gmt":"2007-08-22T11:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tat.reddaisytrading.co.uk\/index.php\/2007\/08\/22\/akhtar-is-not-a-problem\/"},"modified":"2016-01-07T16:22:10","modified_gmt":"2016-01-07T16:22:10","slug":"akhtar-is-not-a-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/2007\/08\/22\/akhtar-is-not-a-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Akhtar is not a problem\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

New Pakistan coach backs fast bowler<\/h3>\n
\"\"NEW PAKISTAN coach Geoff Lawson does not see fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar as a \u2018problem\u2019 as he looks to begin his new role.<\/strong><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Akhtar was fined $5000 earlier this month after walking out of a training session and failing to attend a subsequent disciplinary hearing.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

He appealed against the decision and is set for a showdown with the Pakistan Cricket Board in a forthcoming hearing which will look into two charges of indiscipline. <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

But Lawson, who arrived in Pakistan on Monday to officially begin his role as Pakistan coach, said he was not worried about the player\u2019s attitude. <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

“Coaches have problems with the attitude of the players and this goes back to 700BC and it’s nothing new\u201d, he said.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t see Akhtar as a problem. I am a fast bowler first so I will have to deal with that.”<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Lawson\u2019s first major tournament will come next month in the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

He said he would be looking for his team\u2019s \u201ckiller instinct\u201d in the tournament. <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

“Any side that wants to be world’s best needs aggression, the killer’s instinct and must play to its strength and that’s what I would be looking at,” Lawson told a press conference. <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

“Let me say I am thrilled and honoured to be here and meeting with the players. The enthusiasm among the players is outstanding and they are eager to do well.”<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Lawson also played down the affect of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammed Yousuf, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat\u2019s decision to join the Indian Cricket League. <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

But he echoed the views of the PCB in admitting he would love for Mohammed Yousuf to change his mind.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

“I feel there would be no direct reflection of the players joining the league because players make their decisions but I would certainly hope Yousuf has a change of mind. Yousuf is a fine player and he is not only worth it for his runs but also for his influence on the younger players,” he said. <\/div>\n


\nPakistan face Scotland in their first Twenty20 World Championship match at Durban on September 12 before taking on India at the same venue two days later. \n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Pakistan coach backs fast bowler NEW PAKISTAN coach Geoff Lawson does not see fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar as a \u2018problem\u2019 as he looks to begin his new role. Akhtar was fined $5000 earlier this month after walking out of a training session and failing to attend a subsequent disciplinary hearing. He appealed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theasiantoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}