Former Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram has insisted that the new rules in limited-overs cricket and the surge in popularity of the Twenty20 game have made seam bowling much more difficult.

Akram said that learning as a fast bowler now means that young players have to be adaptable to all forms of cricket from an early age.

"The rule changes in one-day cricket, that you can't keep more than four fielders outside the circle in a 50-over match at any time, and the rising popularity of T20 cricket means pace bowlers now need to be more adaptable," Akram told Reuters.

"T20 cricket has changed the mentality of batsmen. The odds are stacked against the bowlers. I see some [young] bowlers have pace, and that is an encouraging sign, but they need to be groomed on how to best make use of it and how to bowl in the three different formats of the game."

Akram played in 104 Tests and 356 one-day internationals.