Kamran Akmal, the wicketkeeper-batsman feels that Pakistan needs to do more when it comes to grooming its national players — and said that he is unhappy with the way senior players are written off before they have a couple of years of cricket left within them.
Pakistan have Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Yasir Shah and Shaheen Afridi besides the experienced trio of Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Azhar Ali.
Kamran Akmal Urges Pakistan Management To Look At India:
Kamran Akmal even urged the Pakistan management to look at the way young cricketers are being groomed in India — and said that this was the reason behind the success of their arch-rivals.
Talking about the rise of cricketers such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in India in the last decade, he said that it was possible because of a planned succession where senior cricketers such as Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag could groom these players.
“Did India get rid of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag after the 2007 [ODI] World Cup in the name of fast-tracking youngsters?
“All these great players stayed until they could help guide the next generation of Indian players and we are seeing the fruits of that policy today,” Akmal said in an interview to PakPassion.net.
“How else do you explain the top-rankings of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or even the success of a youngster like Lokesh Rahul,” Kamran Akmal stated.
Virat Kohli, the current Indian skipper has 70 international hundreds behind only Sachin Tendulkar, who has exactly 100 centuries besides his name. Rohit Sharma is the only player to have scored three double centuries in ODIs. He holds the highest individual score ever which is 264.
Senior Cricketers Not Treated Well In Pakistan: Kamran Akmal
Kamran Akmal emphasized that the grooming of youngsters by seniors is missing in Pakistan cricket at the moment, and contrasted it with the way senior players in Pakistan are treated.
“Contrast that to our planning which really is non-existent. In fact, our planning seems to be to make it impossible for decent players like Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq to stay in the team all of whom had a few more years of cricket left in them at the time of their retirements.”
Kamran Akmal even blamed the Pakistan management for forcing a senior player like Younis Khan out of the team.
“Even worse was the case of how Younis Khan was dealt with by creating uncertainty in his selection and not communicating plans with him properly, with the result that he was forced to leave the Pakistan side,” Akmal added.
The 2009 T20 World Cup-winner Akmal added if these senior players had been given some more time, they would also have been able to develop another player of their calibre.
“Had each of these players remained a few more years in the side, they would have helped groom the next generation of excellent cricketers for Pakistan.
“If things had been handled sensibly, Abdul Razzaq would have left behind an all-rounder in his mould, Shoaib Akhtar would have helped train quality pacers and we would have had a proper successor for Mohammad Yousuf as well,” Kamran Akmal concluded.
Abdul Razzaq debuted in 1996 and was a part of 2009 World T20 squad. Shoaib Akhtar is known for his pace and is also known as Rawalpindi Express. Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan are quality batsmen who have contributed with the bat.