Former Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal has pronounced fears over the elimination of talented pacer Abbas Afridi from the national squad for the upcoming T20I series against Bangladesh.
In a present interview, Akmal named Afridi’s omission as “injustice,” emphasizing the pacer’s reliable performances both in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and on the international stage.
“I think he has 33 wickets from 20 games in T20 cricket. I think it is an injustice to him,” Akmal said.
“You could break Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah to give Abbas Afridi, Khurram Shehzad and Sufiyan Muqeem a casual,” he added.
The former wicketkeeper-batter harassed the need for long-term preparation and talent development gaining of the T20 World Cup. He also quizzed the imbalance in the current squad arrangement.
“The current squad has nine batters, counting five openers. There is no planning for the future or plan to develop new talent,” he stated.
Akmal also criticised the widespread changes made to the squad that contained in the recent T20I series against New Zealand.
“The question is whether you should have retrieved a strong side in that [New Zealand] series or this [Bangladesh] series. I think there is no clarity on that,” he concluded.
It is relevant to mention that the right-arm pacer is in excellent form for Karachi Kings in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 and is presently the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with 17 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 20.64 and an economy rate of 10.02.
The 24-year-old has played 20 T20I matches for Pakistan and has picked up 33 wickets at an average of 15.48 and an economy rate of 8.58.
Temporarily, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday revealed both the squad and a studied schedule for the T20I series against Bangladesh.
The series, initially planned as a five-match contest, was climbed down to three games due to logistical challenges.
All matches will be played at Lahore’s iconic Gaddafi Stadium from May 28 to June 1, with 8:00 PM (local time) start times.
Bangladesh is scheduled to reach in Lahore on May 25, with training sessions on May 26 and 27.
The series also marks the entrance assignment for newly appointed head coach Mike Hesson, adding further implication to the three-match contest.
Pakistan squad for Bangladesh T20I series:
Agha Salman (c), Shadab Khan (vc), Fakhar Zaman, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan (wk), and Naseem Shah.
Pakistan-Bangladesh T20I series schedule:
- 28 May – 1st T20I, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
- 30 May – 2nd T20I, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
- 1 June – 3rd T20I, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
