Keep Your Personal Agenda Away: Kamran Akmal To Babar Azam On Umar Akmal’s Absence From Pakistan Team
New Delhi: Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal lashed out at Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and asked them to keep their personal agendas away while selecting players for the Pakistan cricket team. He stated that the Pakistan team is being selected on the basis of their personal connections. He further alleged that team selection should not be treated as a musical chair.
“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. He stated that his brother Umar deserves to be in the national team and the team selection committee as well as the captain should think about bringing Umar back in the team.
“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.