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Former Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal has slammed the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to send seven players back home midway through the England tour.
The PCB released Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha and Imam-ul-Haq along with four other players after Pakistan lost the first two Tests against England. The PCB also named seven replacements for the third and final Test against England in Birmingham. Earlier, Mickey Arthur slams PCB over ‘chop and change’ culture amid England Tests.
Kamran Akmal slams PCB for massive shake-up on England tour
The Pakistan Cricket Board made a major change to the coaching staff. Test head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul were removed from their roles. White-ball coaches Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke have now taken charge of the Test team for the third and final Test match of the England tour.
Kamran Akmal believes that the senior players like Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha could have stayed with the Pakistan team even if they were not selected in the playing XI. He feels sending them home could put more pressure on the remaining players and send a wrong message.
Kamran Akmal said on the ‘Game Plan’ show: “There was one more Test left. You could have had both Agha and Rizwan in the squad. You could have dropped them from the playing XI. You should have kept them in the squad. They are your senior players. They have been captains. Sending them back is not a good message for the remaining players.”
Kamran Akmal slams PCB over mid-series player excile
The former wicketkeeper-batter believes that if the PCB wanted to make such a big change, it should change the entire system and build a new team, instead of sending players home midway through the series. He feels bad for them and said it sent a wrong message to the entire world.
Kamran Akmal further added, “This will result in more pressure for the remainder of the team. It is not a good decision; if you are sending them back, then the chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, needs to rejig the entire system. Make a new team. This decision to send back players is not good for our country, and it doesn't send a good message to the rest of the world.”
Many feel for Salman and Rizwan's situation
Salman Ali Agha had captained Pakistan in the first Test at Headingley when Babar Azam was absent. However, he was dropped for the Lord’s Test after Babar returned.
Rizwan also had been disappointing with the bat. The senior wicketkeeper-batter scored only 61 runs in four innings against England and faced criticism for his shot selection and game awareness. Amid this, Pakistan team changes draw ‘PCB is culprit’ verdict from 1983 winner.
Imam-ul-Haq’s injury sparks fresh trouble for PCB
Imam-ul-Haq is already under scrutiny. After struggling in the first Test, the opener suffered a calf injury while fielding on the first day of the second Test. He did not come out to bat later against England, which raised questions about the seriousness of his injury.
The issue became much bigger after several former cricketers alleged that Imam was faking the injury. With Pakistan already losing the Test series, the shocking changes raised questions about the PCB.
