NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan player and national selector Kamran Akmal has criticized the national team management, including past and present captains, for their lack of confidence in spinners during home Test series.
According to Akmal, spinners in Pakistan have been consistently marginalized and denied adequate opportunities to demonstrate their abilities over the past three years.His comments come in the aftermath of Pakistan’s 0-2 loss to Bangladesh in their recent home series.
“There is no way we will win a home series without a spinner taking wickets. 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 his concern regarding the exclusion of seasoned spinners from the team. He mentioned that players like Yasir Shah, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Bilal Asif, Zahid Mahmood or Usman Qadir should not have been overlooked without proper justification.
“When Babar (Azam) was captain, he kept some spinners in the squad but never bothered to play them regularly. Unless spinners get constant exposure, how will they come through?” he said.
Akmal highlighted Pakistan’s successful track record in home matches, where they have triumphed by employing a balanced attack of fast bowlers and spinners.
“Even when we were forced to play in UAE, we won Tests mainly because of our spinners,” he said.
“We don’t have pacers who are as strong as those we had in the past and yet we are expecting them to win us the series. The recent series against Bangladesh is an example.”
“Where is Yasir Shah? Isn’t he still active in first class cricket? Where has Noman Ali gone? Didn’t he take wickets? Did he get punished? He had appendicitis in Australia, got operated on, and was then sidelined.”
“What was Usman Qadir’s fault? What was Sajid Khan’s fault? What was Bilal Asif’s fault? All of them have taken five-wicket hauls and yet are out of the team,” he said.
Akmal said Pakistan batters’ ‘legs start to give way’ against pacers. “Our batters are comfortable against pacers bowling at 130-140 kmph, but when they face a pace of 140 kmph or more, and they see that on the scoreboard during the match, their legs start to give way,” he said.
“See how we struggled against Nahid Rana and Taskin Ahmed who bowl 140 kmph plus. Look at the way our main batters were dismissed,” he said.
Akmal emphasized that players should prioritize domestic cricket rather than solely focusing on overseas leagues.
“They prefer to go and play in useless foreign leagues to earn money and this is not helping them develop their skills. This lack of commitment towards domestic cricket is leading to inconsistent performances at the international level.”
Kamran said there was nothing wrong with players wanting to earn money from foreign leagues. “But I think as a professional you have to balance your schedule and ensure that while you earn money you also improve yourself as a player for your country,” he added.
Akmal said Babar is struggling for form due to some technical flaws.
“He is unsure of himself and his off-stump early on and has this tendency to leave his leg stump exposed. Balls that should be played towards cover are being played straight, and the bat doesn’t go towards the ball’s direction,” he said.
According to Akmal, spinners in Pakistan have been consistently marginalized and denied adequate opportunities to demonstrate their abilities over the past three years.His comments come in the aftermath of Pakistan’s 0-2 loss to Bangladesh in their recent home series.
“There is no way we will win a home series without a spinner taking wickets. 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 his concern regarding the exclusion of seasoned spinners from the team. He mentioned that players like Yasir Shah, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Bilal Asif, Zahid Mahmood or Usman Qadir should not have been overlooked without proper justification.
“When Babar (Azam) was captain, he kept some spinners in the squad but never bothered to play them regularly. Unless spinners get constant exposure, how will they come through?” he said.
Akmal highlighted Pakistan’s successful track record in home matches, where they have triumphed by employing a balanced attack of fast bowlers and spinners.
“Even when we were forced to play in UAE, we won Tests mainly because of our spinners,” he said.
“We don’t have pacers who are as strong as those we had in the past and yet we are expecting them to win us the series. The recent series against Bangladesh is an example.”
“Where is Yasir Shah? Isn’t he still active in first class cricket? Where has Noman Ali gone? Didn’t he take wickets? Did he get punished? He had appendicitis in Australia, got operated on, and was then sidelined.”
“What was Usman Qadir’s fault? What was Sajid Khan’s fault? What was Bilal Asif’s fault? All of them have taken five-wicket hauls and yet are out of the team,” he said.
Akmal said Pakistan batters’ ‘legs start to give way’ against pacers. “Our batters are comfortable against pacers bowling at 130-140 kmph, but when they face a pace of 140 kmph or more, and they see that on the scoreboard during the match, their legs start to give way,” he said.
“See how we struggled against Nahid Rana and Taskin Ahmed who bowl 140 kmph plus. Look at the way our main batters were dismissed,” he said.
Akmal emphasized that players should prioritize domestic cricket rather than solely focusing on overseas leagues.
“They prefer to go and play in useless foreign leagues to earn money and this is not helping them develop their skills. This lack of commitment towards domestic cricket is leading to inconsistent performances at the international level.”
Kamran said there was nothing wrong with players wanting to earn money from foreign leagues. “But I think as a professional you have to balance your schedule and ensure that while you earn money you also improve yourself as a player for your country,” he added.
Akmal said Babar is struggling for form due to some technical flaws.
“He is unsure of himself and his off-stump early on and has this tendency to leave his leg stump exposed. Balls that should be played towards cover are being played straight, and the bat doesn’t go towards the ball’s direction,” he said.