Pakistan bowling legend Wasim Akram has appealed to cricket fans on both sides of the border to treat India-Pakistan matches as sporting contests rather than extensions of historical conflict, while also speaking warmly — with a mild caveat — about his long friendship with former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan. Akram made the remarks on the 1 Mint podcast, offering a candid perspective on one of sport's most charged rivalries.

The rivalry in perspective

Akram was blunt in his assessment of fan behaviour around India-Pakistan cricket. He argued that the intensity of supporter reaction, often fuelled by memories of past hostilities, was disproportionate to what happens on the field. His message was direct: results should be accepted and the next match awaited, not relitigated indefinitely.

'People have too much time. Why can't they understand? It's only a frikkin game. At the end of the day, it's just a match. Somebody has to win, somebody has to lose. And move on to the next one. But no, what happened many moons ago still lingers. Revenge and all is so 1970. It's the classic 'an empty mind is a devil's workshop' thought process,' Akram said.

Akram and Pathan: A cross-border mentorship

One of the more revealing sections of the conversation centred on Akram's relationship with Irfan Pathan, who burst onto the international scene in 2003 and quickly drew comparisons to the Pakistani great for his left-arm pace and strikingly similar bowling action. The two first crossed paths during India's tour of Australia in 2004, when Akram was working as a commentator and Pathan was still finding his footing at the top level.

'Irfan met me in 2004 on his first tour to Australia; I was commentating. He was a big fan. Grew up watching us. I gave him a few tips here and there, but he did well early on in his career. His action was similar to mine from the very beginning,' Akram recalled.

Mindset over mechanics

Akram explained that his guidance to Pathan — and to young bowlers in general — was rarely about overhauling technique. By the time a cricketer reaches international level, he noted, the fundamentals are largely settled. The value of experience lies elsewhere.

'But when players ask you about something, what you tell them is mostly about the mindset. Action and all is fine, because at that stage, you have reached that level where you're representing the country. Things like wrist position and how to suss out a batsman. When to use variations, when not to. So yeah, it was good fun,' he said.

A friendship with a footnote

Akram was affectionate about Pathan but acknowledged a recurring friction: the former India all-rounder's social media posts about Pakistan. 'Irfan is a good boy; he still keeps meeting me. It's a different thing that he keeps tweeting some or the other thing against Pakistan. But our fans are ready too. They don't have the tendency to ignore either. They just have to reply,' Akram said, with apparent resignation rather than rancour.

The remarks are a reminder that even the warmest cross-border sporting friendships are not entirely insulated from the political noise that surrounds the India-Pakistan relationship. Notably, Akram stopped short of criticising Pathan directly, framing the issue as one of fan behaviour on both sides.

Context and legacy

Wasim Akram, widely regarded as one of the greatest fast bowlers in cricket history, captained Pakistan and is credited with shaping a generation of left-arm pace bowlers across South Asia. Irfan Pathan made his Test debut against Australia in 2003 and became one of India's most potent new-ball options in the mid-2000s, his career arc frequently measured against Akram's own. Their continued friendship, despite the fraught backdrop of the bilateral rivalry, is itself a small but telling counterpoint to the hostility Akram was pushing back against.