After Salman Butt was chosen for the second XI for the National T20 Cup, he left denying that he does not want to take place in the domestic tournament anymore.
Kamran Akmal, the Pakistani former cricketer, believes that demoting the senior players to the second playing XI is an insult to them. Querying that what would be the impact on the youngsters after seeing the senior in the second XI, he says that what message will we be sending to them?
Kamran Akmal: Demoting senior players to the second XI is an insult
“It’s become ridiculous now as senior players are being asked to make room for Under-19 players in the First XI. Go ahead and provide opportunities for our younger players but do so with some proper planning and let them prove themselves by playing in Division 2,” said Akmal.
“What message we are sending to youngsters if we ask players like Salman Butt, Azhar Ali, myself, or Usman Salahuddin to play in the Second XI,” he asked.
“In England and Australia, Under-19 cricketers do the hard yards in the lower divisions and once they have proven their mettle, they advance to the next stage but in Pakistan, we seem to be following the opposite route,” he said.
He also added that the players like Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Yusuf, and Abdul Razzaq retired earlier as they would have transferred their talent to the upcoming generations.
“Players like Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Yousuf, and Abdul Razzaq took retirement at a time when a few more years of cricket was left in them. Had each of these players remained a few more years in the side, they would have helped groom the next generation of excellent cricketers for Pakistan,” he concluded.
