New Delhi, July 27: Dry, subcontinental tracks never kept him from picking up bunches of wickets, and neither did the type of ball. Swing bowling’s finest exponent Wasim Akram could move both Kookaburra and the English Duke balls prodigiously in the air and at his peak in 1990s, he was virtually unplayable with either.

It wasn’t until 1999 in India that he came across the SG ball and ever since then, he has wondered why it’s not used worldwide. The news then, of India themselves phasing out the SG in favour of either Kookaburra or Duke, riles him considerably.

"It’s not a well-thought decision, to be honest," Akram says. "The SG has a prominent seam which helps fast bowlers in gripping and is less likely to wobble when delivering the ball. Yes, the Kookabura will last a lot longer than any other variety, but it’s not going to offer any reverse swing.

"In comparison, the SG scruffs up early so a fast bowler can get the ball to reverse as early as the 34th over," he adds.

The cricket control board’s technical committee has as good as made their decision on the issue, citing the ‘poor quality’ of SG balls used in the previous Ranji Trophy season. They will however, speak to Zaheer Khan and Co. before an official announcement is taken.

Akram reckons that Zaheer could play a key role in swaying the board back towards the SG and credits him for India’s recent success. "The Kookabura swings a lot in the first 5-10 overs, but as soon as the seam gets embedded, things will get very difficult for swing bowlers especially on flat tracks in India. I rate Zaheer as the best left-armer in the world right now and Pakistan bowlers could learn a lot from him. I know he would never pick a Duke or Kookabura over SG," he adds.

The Pakistan pace great, who started as an out-and-out fast bowler at first, relied more on swing to take wickets later on, forming a dangerous combination with Waqar Younis. He finished with 916 international wickets and a majority of them was due to his ability to reverse the ball. He still regrets Pakistan’s move in opting for the Kookabura over the Duke ball in the early 2000s and fears that India could too lose its recently-gained edge in fast bowling. "Bad judgements by Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif has meant that Pakistan aren’t a force they used to be. Other pacers are also not performing the way they did earlier. India are still strong and I fear they could lose the advantage," he says.

Of late, India’s own pace prodigy Ishant Sharma too has lost his edge, but Akram rejects comparisons. "This is Ishant’s first bad patch, we have to cut him some slack. I’ve studied his action and I cannot find any weakness. He’s so young; he will only get better."