Kamran Akmal Doesn't Want This Player In The Pakistan Team

Former wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal lashed out at the young batsman Saim Ayub after Pakistan team’s humiliating and historic loss against Bangladesh in their home test series. 

The Men in Green suffered from a 2-0 series loss in the Pakistan vs Bangladesh test series 2024. Both matches were played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. 

The tourists defeated the hosts by a massive margin of 10 wickets in the 1st test and then later completed the clean sweep by winning the 2nd test with 6 wickets in hand. 

Saim Ayub scored 135 runs in the series, including two half-centuries, however, Kamran Akmal expressed his disappointment over Saim’s casual dismissal in the 1st innings of the 2nd Test. The young left-handed batter was stumped out after playing a 58-run knock. 

“Honestly, if I were in charge, I swear I wouldn’t let Saim come near the team for the next two years after getting out like he did in the first innings of the second Test,” Akmal said during an interview with a local sports website.

The former Pakistan team player then went on to question opener Abdullah Shafique’s performance. 

“Abdullah Shafique, as you can see, is a specialist opener. Whether it’s the first ball or not, cricket has become so fast-paced that runs are expected right from the start,” he added.

“You can see that our approach is totally different; we’re not playing the cricket of the ’90s or ’80s. If a player like Abdullah Shafique isn’t scoring runs against such teams, then I think it’s a worrying sign, both for Abdullah and for Pakistan.”

Pakistan’s historic series loss against Bangladesh has garnered criticism from all around the world. 

This loss has not only raised questions regarding Pakistan team’s capabilities, but also impacted their ICC Men’s Test Team ranking.