Ex-Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal slams PCB's lack of 'professionalism': 'Learn from BCCI'

Former Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal has slammed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), claiming that the suffering of the team is due to the “ego” of the country’s cricketing board. Akmal added that it is high time that the PCB learnt “professionalism” from the BCCI.

Pakistan’s latest setback in international cricket came in the form of a 0-2 Test series defeat to Bangladesh at home earlier in September. That left them in eighth place in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings (19.05 per cent points). India, on the other hand, outplayed Bangladesh by 280 runs in the first Test on Sunday in Chennai. India remain on top of the WTC standings with 71.67 per cent points.

‘Learn from BCCI’

“PCB should learn from BCCI, their professionalism, their team, selector, captain, and coaches. These are the things that make a team number one and dominate the world. If we were so good, then Pakistan cricket wouldn’t be here. It is because of your ego Pakistan cricket is suffering,” the 42 year-old opined on his YouTube channel.

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Pakistan cricket has been in a turmoil over the last couple of years. The Men in Green lost the 2022 Asia Cup final to Sri Lanka, and were ousted in the Super Four stage of the 2023 Asia Cup. Pakistan had a dismal run at the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, where they were knocked out in the league stage after finishing fifth with eight points.

Pakistan underwent radical changes within the team, with Babar Azam quitting as captain across formats after the ODI World Cup, and Shaheen Afridi taking over as T20I captain. Shan Masood was named captain of the Test team.

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However, Babar was retained as limited-overs skipper just months before the 2024 T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA. Shan Masood continues to be the Test skipper.

Pakistan suffered a group stage exit from the T20 World Cup , that included a defeat to India and a shock loss to USA. Earlier this year, Pakistan lost a T20I to Ireland, and also succumbed to a 0-2 series loss to England. Australia completed a clean sweep against Pakistan in a Test series that was held between December 2023 and January 2024.

PCB holds Connection Camp

Amid the crisis, the PCB held a “Connection Camp” in order to develop a clear roadmap for Pakistan cricket as well as to form unity among the entire team.

Nine cricketers —Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Afridi, Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan, Shan Masood and Agha Salman attended the camp. Pakistan Test coach Jason Gillespie, limited-overs coach Gary Kirsten, assistan coach Azhar Mahmood and High Performance specialist David Reid were also present at the camp.