NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan player and national team selector Kamran Akmal has criticised the national team management, including past and present captains, for their lack of trust in spinners during the home Test series.
According to Akmal, Pakistan’s spinners have been consistently sidelined for the last three years and have not been given enough opportunities to showcase their talent. Akmal’s comments came after Pakistan lost 0-2 to Bangladesh in their last home series.
“There is no way we can win the home series without a spinner taking a wicket. My observation is that in the last three-four years, the management and captains have not shown patience to develop the spinners,” he told PTI.
Akmal expressed concern over the exclusion of experienced spinners from the team, stating that players like Yasir Shah, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Bilal Asif, Zahid Mahmood or Usman Qadir should not be ignored without proper justification.
“When Babar (Azam) was the captain, he kept some spinners in the squad but never bothered to play them regularly. If spinners don’t get constant visibility, how will they be successful?” he said.
Akmal emphasised that Pakistan achieved victory in their home matches by implementing a balanced attacking strategy consisting of fast bowlers and spinners.
“Even when we had to play in the UAE, we won the Test matches mainly because of our spinners,” he said.
“We don’t have the strong pacers that we had in the past and yet we expect them to win the series for us. The last series against Bangladesh is an example of that.”
“Where is Yasir Shah? Is he still not interested in first-class cricket? Where did Noman Ali go? Did he not take a wicket? Did he get a penalty? He had appendicitis in Australia, had an operation and then stepped aside.”
“What was Usman Qadir’s fault? What was Sajid Khan’s fault? What was Bilal Asif’s fault? They all took five wickets and still left the team,” he said.
Akmal said Pakistani batsmen’s ‘legs are starting to give way’ against pacers. “Our batsmen are comfortable against pacers who bowl at 130-140 kmph, but when they face a speed of 140 kmph or more and see it on the scoreboard during the match, their legs start giving way,” he said.
“Look at how we struggled against Nahid Rana and Taskin Ahmed, who were bowling at speeds of 140 kmph and above. Look at how our main batters were eliminated,” he said.
Akmal stressed that players should prioritize domestic cricket Instead of just focusing on overseas leagues.
“They prefer to go and play in useless foreign leagues to earn money and that doesn’t help them develop their skills. This lack of commitment to domestic cricket leads to inconsistent performances at the international level.”
Kamran said there was nothing wrong with players wanting to make money from foreign leagues. “But I think as a professional you have to balance your schedule and develop yourself as a player for your country while also making money,” he added.
Akmal said Babar was not in form due to some technical hitches.
“He is unsure of himself and his off-stump early and tends to leave his leg stump exposed. Balls that should be played towards covers are played straight and the bat does not go in the direction of the ball,” he said.