Five talented cricketers wasted by Pakistan Cricket

There have been many names in Pakistan Cricket who have used their talents to enhance Pakistan Cricket. They appear, made records, astonish the cricketing fraternity, and got disappear never been seen again.

Either the players have been crushed under the selection panel, or they have been trolled, or they have been justified by their own wrongdoings history. A few could not wait for enough and fly to another country or quit cricket temporarily having objections under current management.m

Here are a few of the top names:

Five talented cricketers wasted by Pakistan Cricket

Umar Akmal:

Umar Akmal – Who is unaware of his case? The cricketer has been crushed under his history of wrongdoings or might be the cases are exaggerated by the PCB as the board later has given multiple chances to the players involved in scandals or ball-tampering.

The batsman played his closing ODI in 2019 against Australia and was last seen playing T20I versus Sri Lanka in October 2019. Being a power-hitter, he would have fulfilled the empty places in Pakistan Cricket in need of hard-hitters. He has 1003 Tests, 3194 ODIs, and 1690 T20Is runs in 16, 121, and 84 matches respectively.

Kamran Akmal:

The righthanded wicketkeeping batsman, Kamran Akmal is all that Pakistan need now in their batting line-up. No opening duos and no power hitters – Kamran fits both the vacant spaces.

He started his international career in November 2002 with a Test match at Harare Sports Club. The batter has smashed 2648, 3236, and 987 runs in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is respectively.

Kamran played his last T20I and ODI matches against West Indies in April 2017. The fantastic batsman was not seen selected later.

Abdul Razzaq:

Abdul Razzaq joined Pakistan Cricket in the 1990s. Opportunities came his way as he became the youngest cricketer to pick a Test hat-trick against Sri Lanka.

His form was questionable in 2007 and later as he started to lose the momentum hitting on an injury that officially kicked him out of selection’s consideration. Disappointed Razzaq chose retirement but revoked the decision.

Later, one more injury struck his way and he was never considered. Also, he was even looked for 2014 WC. The player never retired but started fading away under lack of opportunities and no international calls from Pakistan Cricket. He later signed a contract with a TV show moving to England.

Mohammad Asif:

The seamer Mohammad Asif is still in the tongues of many. The ball used to swing with his movements. He also has opened up on the current fast bowlers of Pakistan recently.

“They [current Pakistan bowlers] are so aged. It is written as 17-18 years on paper, but they are actually 27-28 years old. They don’t have the flexibility to bowl 20-25 overs. They don’t know how to bend the body and they become stiff after a while. They are not able to stand on the field after bowling a 5-6 over spell,” Asif said without taking any names.

“These kids do not have the knowledge. They don’t know how to keep the batsmen on the front foot, not give them a single and how to bowl on the wickets. When they try to bowl on the wickets, it goes down the leg-side. They do not have the control,” Asif said.

“I feel it might have been 5-6 years since a fast bowler took 10 wickets in a match. We used to salivate after seeing the pitches like the ones in New Zealand. There was no question of leaving the ball as a fast bowler. I never used to leave the ball before taking a five-wicket haul,” said Mohammad Asif.

The player does not have a long-career but his bowling is praisable and the Pakistan Cricket has not found any like him yet. In 23 Tests, 33 ODIs, and 11 T20Is, he has picked 106, 46, and 13 wickets respectively

106 tests in 23 matches is not a piece of cake. He is a real talent wasted. He has been ignored by the selection panel and once blamed ICC as well saying if they have suggested Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) not to select him.

Mohammad Amir:

The paceman Mohammad Amir proved his worth multiple times. The reason behind the Champions Trophy 2017 victory for Pakistan is Amir – the bowler targetted the first three players that were the hardest task to remove. Amir has given many memories to remember from.

The exceptional bowler will be in the hearts of many but lost his respect in a few hearts. It is said that cricket is a game of tolerance in a country like Pakistan. Racism, back-source have always been its part. Amir, who got disappointed with the past’s taunts and not being selected quite often in a year, left the cricket himself.

However, many denote that he should have learned a lesson from Fawad Alam who remained to wait for more than a decade and is in the hearts of many still.

Notably, there are many more names who were talented enough but have either been crushed under selection’s racism or due to their own zero tolerance. The names of Jr. Irfan and Sami Aslam are notable who have left Pakistan at their young age.

Also, see:

Umar Akmal; A batting talent wasted