Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal has launched a scathing attack on the Mohammad Rizwan-led side after its early exit from the Champions Trophy. With zero wins in the bag, Pakistan failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy semi-finals after losing to New Zealand and India, while their final group game was washed out in Rawalpindi. Akmal blamed the lack of balance in the Pakistan squad as the reason behind the hosts early exit from the tournament. Even the show of the hosts lashed out at the selectors, saying that Pakistan’s fate was decided the same their squad was announced.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“This team lost the Champions Trophy when the squad was announced,” the hosts said.
Responding to the anchor’s remark, Kamran took a jibe at the Pakistan team with a cheeky remark.
“If you make these 15 stand on the terrace, even that will fall. There is no balance in the team,” Akmal said during a discussion on ARY News.
Meanwhile, Kamran’s brother Umar Akmal placed the blame for the current state of the Pakistan cricket team squarely on Babar Azam‘s shoulders, saying the former captain failed to build bench strength during his nearly five-year tenure at the helm.
“Babar was captain for nearly five years most of the time in all formats and he never tried to build up the bench strength due to his likes and dislikes,” Umar told a TV channel.
“I told Babar that look give me a fair chance. You are doing well in the top order and I can be your finisher and we can win matches regularly and it will be good for Pakistan cricket,” he said.
“He didn’t listen to me and for five years when he was captain he never bothered to try to build a strong bench because only teams with good back up players do consistently well in all formats,” he added.
Babar served as Pakistan’s captain in two different stints. He was first appointed in 2019 before stepping down following the 2023 World Cup. However, he was reinstated as captain in 2024 for white-ball formats but relinquished the role after a disappointing World T20 Cup campaign last year.
After Pakistan crashed out of their party, reports have started to point towards the conclusion of Aaqib Javed‘s brief run as interim head coach.
“Aqib Javed will not get an extension in his role. A new coach will be appointed for the New Zealand tour,” sources within the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed to Geo News.
from: NDTV Sports-Latest