Our cricket is ruined because of too much focus on India-Pakistan matches’: Former Pakistan batter Asim Kamal
Kamal said excessive focus on India-Pakistan contests have somewhat had a negative impact on Pakistan cricket. The former Test batter said matches against other teams would also needed attention to take the unnecessary pressure off the players ahead of an India-Pakistan encounter.
With barely a couple of weeks to go for the big-ticket India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match on October 24 in Dubai, the anticipation is slowly but surely building up. This will be after two years that the arch rivals will meet on the cricket field. The last time India and Pakistan faced each other was also in a World Cup, albeit in the ODI format, in 2019 in England.
At a time when fans, experts alike are gearing up for the mouth-watering contest between Virat Kohli's India and Babar Azam's Pakistan, former Pakistan batter Asim Kamal, shared a slightly different viewpoint.
Kamal said excessive focus on India-Pakistan contests have somewhat had a negative impact on Pakistan cricket. The former Test batter said matches against other teams would also needed attention to take the unnecessary pressure off the players ahead of an India-Pakistan encounter.
Our cricket is ruined because we focused too much on the India-Pakistan match in focus. In order to relieve the pressure, other teams should also be given attention," Asim told Express News.
Talking about Pakistan's current lot, Asim, who has represented Pakistan in 12 Tests, said the ‘trend’ of senior players feeling insecure about being replaced by the youngsters, is worrisome.
"Senior players do not help upcoming young stars because they are scared of being replaced by them. This trend has continued for a very long while and it needs to be eradicated," he said.
Asim wanted newly-elected Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ramiz Raja to take ‘bold decisions’ to get the house in order.
"He [Ramiz] will have to make bold decisions to fix the Pakistan cricket. He needs to expose and sack those who have been eating away like termites," he claimed.
When asked about Pakistan's squad in the T20 World Cup, which had three changes of late, Kamal said they have got a mix.
"Sharjeel Khan is the number one hitter at the moment, Sohaib Maqsood is a great player and can be used with a little counseling. Also, if Fakhar Zaman is included in the World Cup squad, it will be the best decision."