Akram expressed relief upon seeing Pant’s recovery and lauded his batting prowess. The former pace legend conveyed these sentiments in an interview with Sportskeeda, emphasizing the collective concern felt even in Pakistan over Pant’s condition after the accident.
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“Pant ki performance dekh rahe hai. Miracle jo iss ladke ne kiya hai, dikhaya hai ki he is super human. Jis tragedy se woh wapas aaya hai. Jis tarah se uska accident, maine clips dekhe the, we were all worried in Pakistan [The kind of performance Pant is giving after that accident, he is proving he is a super human. We saw the clips and all were worried about him]. I was worried, actually maine tweet bhi kiya tha unke baare me. And he came back and he averaged 40 this year in IPL – 446 runs, strike rate of 155. Woh toh miracle bachcha hai,” Akram said.
In the ongoing T20 World Cup, Pant maintains his exceptional form, leading as the top run-scorer for Team India after the group stages, having scored 96 runs in three innings with an average of 48.
Akram also praised Pant’s Test career achievements, pointing to significant innings against Australia and England.
“Jis tarike se usne Test cricket me performance di. Jo Australia me jaake usne 100 kiya. Phir uske baad England ke khilaaf usne batting ki. Test cricket me reverse sweeps, [James] Anderson ko, [Pat] Cummins ko. He is special,” Akram said.
Reflecting on Pant’s resilience and mental strength post-accident, Akram deemed his story a powerful example for young people globally.
“And especially what he has been through in that horrific accident. Uske baad comeback karna. Kitna mentally strong yeh ladka hoga. That’s a story to be told for generations to generations in my opinion. To motivate young people of the world – ki comeback ho sakta hai, jaise Pant ne kiya,” he added.
Akram echoed former India captain Sourav Ganguly‘s perception of Pant as a natural and instinctive leader.
“I will second Ganguly that Pant ek natural captain hai, instinctive captain he jo mauke par decision karta hai. Woh bada jaruri hai T20 format mai [Agree with Ganguly that Pant is a natural, instinctive captain and took decisions according to the situation, which is very important in T20 cricket],” Akram said.
“Aap T20 format me yeh nahi jaa sakte ki yaar ek raat pahle – do overs yeh karega, do overs yeh karega, do overs yeh karega, na. Aap jaate ho ki pehla over yeh karega and then situation kiya hai. Agar pahle over me ek wicket le liya hai toh usko me dusra bhi kara dunga. Agar nahi toh main kisi aur ko le aaunga. Yeh instinctive captaani hoti hai. Batting order bhi aap pehle se nahi plan kar sakte hai, situation ki mutabiq change karte ho aap. That’s where I think Pant is good at,” Akram elaborated.
