Kamran Akmal Asks Babar Azam to Keep Personal Agendas aside, Backs Brother Umran For Pakistan Comeback

Add as a preferred source on Google

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal has suggested Babar Azam and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to keep their personal agendas away while selecting players for the team. He has alleged that players in the Pakistan team are being selected on the basis of their connections.

The comment from Akmal comes a day after he took a shot at the PCB for chasing "Mohammad Amir who has been trying to settle in England". He pulled up the board for not taking care of the players toiling hard in Pakistan first-class cricket to find a place in the national squad.

"Keep your personal agendas aside, drafting a team should be about putting Pakistan first, not personal agendas or preferences. It's concerning to see players being shifted between formats based on connections rather than performance. We can't afford to treat team selection like a game of musical chairs," said Kamran Akmal in an exclusive interview with a local media news channel as per Cricket Pakistan.

"The team arrangement should not be based on transitioning players between formats solely on the basis of their connections in the board. It's not right to include someone in the ODI lineup just because they didn't perform well in T20I. This seems like a game of musical chairs, and it's not fair to the team or the players," Akmal added.

The 41-year-old also backed his brother Umran Akmal to make a comeback in the Pakistan cricket team. The 32-year-old last represented Pakistan in a T20I match in 2019.

"Teams shouldn't be based on likings/dislikings. Umar deserves to be part of the team. Change of faces at higher levels should come with change of approach & selection criteria. I don't think they're dealing with Umar appropriately. He deserves to play for the national side," he said.

"The team captain should also think about this, not only the selection committee. He's been with the team for the last four to five years, he should look for the ground requirements of the team," Kamran concluded.

PCB recently announced for the home white-ball series against New Zealand. Senior players Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammed Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman are set to make their comebacks after being rested for the 3-T20I series against Afghanistan in Sharjah.