Kamran Akmal became the latest cricketer from Pakistan to react to the Babar Azam-led national team’s humiliating whitewash at the hands of the second-string England team in the three-match ODI series earlier this week.
Ben Stokes –led England team comprising many young and uncapped players thrashed Pakistan in all three ODIs and Akmal pointed out that none of the players from the hosts' side showed a single sign of nervousness and said that’s how a team should be formed.
Akmal also blamed the former national coaches for the present team's struggle. He also hailed India and England’s cricketing system for setting up an example of how a cricket team should be made and what should be the selection criteria.
Read Also: ENG v PAK 2021: Aaqib Javed sees "more wrestlers than players" in Pakistan's T20 team
Akmal told paktv.tv, “The biggest plus point of England cricket is their system. The players they selected for the series didn’t show a single sign of nervousness; neither did they hit the panic button. They didn’t even complain about the absence of regulars who were in isolation, because they have that kind of confidence.”
He further added, “All the players have done in domestic cricket hence; they handled the pressure well and played with planning. They passed a message to the world how a cricket team should be made and what should be the selection criteria.”
The wicketkeeper-batman also noted that the damage was done to the team by the former coaches and the same old policies of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and now the current set-up has been criticized.
Akmal further explained, “If you have two coaches of similar types then that will cause problems. Coaches have the biggest role in constituting a team. Did the last two Pakistan coaches improve the team? They started all this and now the current management is facing flak.
Read Also: Abdul Razzaq makes sexist remarks against women cricketer Nida Dar; gets lambasted
The players need to play cricket more and more. They need to spend more time on the ground. They need to focus on every format but unfortunately, T20 is getting more attention. Their lies the problem.”
He signed off by saying, “Vicky Bhai [Waqar Younis] was the head coach earlier and then there was Mickey Arthur. What have we won after or before the 2017 Champions Trophy? We were No 1 in T20Is and in Tests just for a month. But what about India who has been on the top for five years?”
(With paktv.tv Inputs)
