Cricket News

‘Drafting a team should be about putting Pakistan first…’- Kamran Akmal sends explosive message to Pakistan skipper Babar Azam

 

Kamran Akmal has been a loyal patriot of Pakistan Cricket for a long time. He made 3626 runs for Pakistan in ODIs. The former wicketkeeper batter had an average of 26.09 and a strike rate of 83.94. He scored five hundreds and ten fifties in ODIs for the Men in Green. He is also well known for his hard-hitting comments that have shaken Pakistan Cricket in recent times.

Kamran took potshots at Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and said that he gives importance to personal agendas while selecting the Pakistan team. He also said in another scathing attack that his brother Umar Akmal has gotten the cold shoulder from Pakistan Cricket and deserved better treatment. “Keep your personal agendas aside, drafting a team should be about putting Pakistan first, not personal agendas or preferences,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.

Umar Akmal deserves to play for Pakistan – Kamran Akmal

“Teams shouldn’t be based on liking or disliking. Umar deserves to be part of the team. Change of faces at higher levels should come with a change of approach and selection criteria. I don’t think they’re dealing with Umar appropriately. He deserves to play for the national side,” Kamran added. When it comes to Umar, he last played for Pakistan in 2019 in an international game.

He has represented Pakistan in 16 Tests, 121 ODIs and 84 T20Is. Umar’s international career could not take off as it was always surrounded by controversy. The wicketkeeper batter could not do justice to his talent and always found himself in sticky situations. In 2011, the cricketer was handed out a show cause notice when he gave interviews without obtaining the requisite permission. He has 1003 runs in 30 innings, and Umar has an average of 35.82 in Tests. Umar has a strike rate of 122.73 in T20I cricket.

Pakistan did not name Umar Akmal for the New Zealand series. For the series, all the regular players that were rested against Afghanistan come back into the side. This includes the likes of Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Haris Rauf. Pakistan and New Zealand will play a five-match T20I series, which will be followed by a five-match ODI series.