"MS Dhoni Still Playing IPL, Are They Mad?" Ex-Pakistan Star Cites India Great's Example To Criticise PCB's Selection Policy

The Pakistan cricket team had a disappointing night when they lost against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2022 final on September 11. The Babar Azam-led side, who were one of the top contenders to lift the Asia Cup trophy, fell short of 23 runs. Following the Asia Cup, Pakistan in currently squaring off against England in a seven-match T20I series, at their home ground. Apart from this, Pakistan Cricket Board also announced their squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia, featuring big names like Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem but it did not consist the name of veteran batter Shoaib Malik.

However, former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal lashed out at PCB over their selection policy and slammed coaches for partiality while choosing the domestic teams.

"I have been talking for the last four to five years about liking and disliking in the team. The same thing is happening in domestic cricket. This will damage Pakistan cricket as these things are coming out and have now become obvious. When we used to play, this culture was not there. Has anyone talked about these things during our time compared to today, where players are saying openly? The concerned individuals used to form good teams," Kamran told Cricket Pakistan.

"The best way is to dig out performance. We can't say only the captain is doing it. PCB Chairman must start from High Performance camp where best coaches are thrown out and friends are being appointed," he added.

The former wicketkeeper further said that the PCB chairman Ramiz Raja should make sure that seniors players must become a part of the domestic teams.

"Ramiz Raja must know the value of a cricketer is whether he is part of an international team or not. We can see in National T20 Cup too, the ones who have scored 5000 runs are in the second XI. Can't he ask Nadeem Khan, Mohammad Wasim and selectors what they have done to the domestic sides? If players can't make their way into the national side, should they also not play domestic?" he asked.

"Alastair Cook is still playing domestic despite retiring in 2018, MS Dhoni is still playing IPL, are they mad? But here they start chirping about age," he added.

Coming to the series against England, Pakistan claimed victory in the fourth T20I by three runs on Sunday, as the series is now levelled at 2-2. The fifth T20I will take place on September 28 in Lahore.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Kamran Akmal Shoaib Malik MS Dhoni Asia Cup, 2022 Cricket