Akram hopes for India-Pakistan final

Leading wicket taker in one-dayers, Wasim Akram has said he is looking forward eagerly to meeting the Indians in the ICC KnockOut final. "It would be great if India and Pakistan meet in the final," the former Pakistan captain said in Nairobi on Tuesday, according to PTI. "In any case, it will be good if one of the sub-continental teams wins the trophy here," he added. This is in contrast to his captain Moin Khan who has predicted a Pakistan-South African final.

Pakistan take on New Zealand in the first semifinal on Wednesday, while India play South Africa in the other semifinal on Friday. The final will be played on Sunday.

On his earlier remarks that India were afraid of losing to Pakistan, Akram clarified that "I never said India is afraid to play Pakistan. How could I make such a remark? I only said it is the (Indian) board and (Indian) government which stops the team from travelling to Pakistan."

Akram said "In Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, I have three very good friends in the Indian team. I would hate to spoil my relationship with them." He added "I met Ganguly during the official function last Friday and cleared the misunderstanding that may have arisen out of the misquote." Ganguly too confirmed that Akram had met him and cleared up the matter.

The 34-year-old all rounder was earlier quoted as saying that the Indians were scared of losing to Pakistan and that was the reason for them trying to opt out of touring his country. He had also said last month that India's refusal to play against Pakistan in Toronto was disappointing. ``It's disappointing that sports and politics are treated with the same stick. Cricket must go on because it eases out tension and promotes good relations," Akram had said then.

Akram said he had watched India's match with Australia very closely and found tremendous potential in newcomer Zaheer Khan. "He is a very interesting prospect," he said. "However, there are a few things he should be careful about, things like his approach to the wicket and body postion at the point of delivery," he said, adding he would not mind giving the youngster the necessary tips in this regard.