Why Selection of Kamran Akmal is Still a Viable Option For Pakistan

In a country where the career of a player seems to always hang in the balance, a lot of effort is required to remain on the radar of selection committee. Difficult as that is, and also fighting the reputation of being a sell-out, Kamran Akmal has completely reinvented his image since he was last included in Pakistan’s national side in April 2017.

After being dropped from the international squad, Kamran Akmal took first-class cricket by storm. The 36-year-old managed to break a number of records which reaffirmed the opinion of many that perhaps he has finally grown into the batsman he had the potential to be.

Cynics, on the other, are still feeding off baseless facts that Kamran is perhaps still unworthy of being included in Pakistan’s national team. Surely the word of those who reduce a player’s reputation to a dropped catch in PSL Final can’t be worth much, or can it?

Consistent First Class Performances

When you think of Pakistan’s domestic cricket circuit, a number of players have made it their forte; Fawad Alam, Usman Sallahuddin and Asif Zakir — most prominent of all. However, in the last three seasons, Kamran Akmal has surpassed them by a significant margin.

In the most recent National T20 Cup, Kamran Akmal managed 5 consecutive scores of 50+ runs, a feat in itself. Not only that, he also registered an unbeaten 150-run from just 71 balls, highest ever by a Pakistani in the T20 format.

Furthermore, while playing for WAPDA in a List-A match, Kamran also managed a double ton to guide his team to victory. He managed a total of 200 runs from just 137 balls.

To quote the great Steve Waugh,

It is impossible to set new records if you are not on top of your game. It requires resilience, patience and belief in one’s own ability.

Kamran? What Happens to Sarfraz?

Perhaps the most talked about aspect to Kamran Akmal’s selection is the fact that Sarfraz Ahmed is already present in the team and do you really destabilize the team by removing the captain of the side? Even if it for just one series?

The answer to that is an unequivocal no.

Speaking recently, Micky Arthur raised similar concerns and said:

But then again, it comes back to where he fields because Sarfraz Ahmed is going to keep wicket and to be brutally honest, we are going with a young team, we are moving forward now.

Although his concerns are valid, they are also very naive. Why, you ask? It is because Kamran has expressed his desire to be considered as an opener alone.

After the conclusion of last year’s PSL, Akmal, who was player of the tournament, addressed the press conference and said:

I am not contending for the wicket-keeping slot with Sarfraz and I want to be considered on my batting ability alone.

It is worth mentioning that not long ago, Akmal reached the milestone of 800 catches behind the wicket — first Pakistani to do so. Despite being a wicketkeeper for so long, Akmal wants to change his roles (age limitations) and become a genuine opening batsman.

Now, should that be something to frown upon? If so, then why was Shahid Afridi accepted when he publicly claimed that he is no longer a batsman and will feature in Pakistan’s side as a bowler?

Players age and they evolve their game as a result.

A classic example of this would be Cristiano Ronaldo — he started his career as a wide forward who used to drag defenders for a good 20 to 30 meters. However, now, he has evolved as a forward whose entire job is to make calculated runs and score goals.

Two Keepers Can Work Together!

If you glance at other Test playing cricketing nations, you can see enough examples where two keepers have played in the playing XI.

This trend is not new and in fact, there have also been various instances when two keepers have made their debut in the same match; the most recent was in 2015 when Sri Lanka played India in Colombo SSC — Kusal Perera and Naman Ojha were both given an opportunity.

If you rewind the time to start of the 2000s, Khaled Mashud and Saba Karim also made their debut together at Dhaka when Bangladesh took on India.

Overall, there have been 14 instances when two keepers have made their debut together let alone play together. So in essence, this is a widely accepted and approved formula towards success.

Similarly, if my memory serves me well, in January 2014, Pakistan took on Sri Lanka in a test match series at Dubai Sports City Stadium. It was the 2nd Test match of the series and Sri Lanka had Kumar Sangakkara, Kaushal Silva, Chandimal and Prasanna Jayawardene — all four well capable of keeping wickets. As time moved forward, Chandimal has now transformed into a genuine batsman, proving that there is more to his game; which is precisely the argument in favor of Kamran Akmal.

South Africa (AB de Villiers and De Kock), West Indies (Fletcher, Walton and Hope), India (Karthik and Dhoni) have also tested the two-wicketkeeper idea and it has proven fruitful most of the times.

So there is no real argument against the fact that two wicketkeepers shouldn’t be playing in the team together, especially since Akmal has been in such good form.

Furthermore, it also solves a lot of problems for Pakistan as the men in green are failing to find a decent opener, a position where Akmal has proved his worth in recent times.

Question Marks Over Fitness & Fielding Ability

If there is one thing that plays against Kamran Akmal is perhaps his inability to remain in shape and play as an outfielder. Since Sarfraz is rated a better wicketkeeper than Kamran, the latter now has to be considered as an outfield player and not a wicketkeeper.

Having argued that, Pakistan cricket has never put fitness as the prime metric for selection; Inzamam-ul-Haq, now chief selector of Pakistan cricket, himself was a liability as an outfielder. However, his supreme batting quality allowed him to play for Pakistan for decades.

Modern cricket has evolved tremendously over the past decade and the emphasis has shifted to being agile and physically fit rather being naturally gifted.

Younis Khan, one of Pakistan’s finest cricketer, once said:

Talent and potential is useless if your body does not support you. To succeed in a game such as cricket, you need three things; fitness, fitness, fitness.

Since Karman Akmal claims that he should be selected as a batsman, he needs to show the selectors that he is capable of fielding as an outfielder. Generally, wicketkeepers who become outfielders have weak throws and are slower than the rest. We have seen many wicketkeepers improve their fielding skills, so it shouldn’t be hard for Akmal to do the same. However, he’ll need to forgo wicketkeeping in the domestic circuit for the selectors to check his fielding abilities.

Kamran Akmal vs. Rest of the Openers

Kamran Akmal, who now regularly features as an opener, has a stellar domestic track record but to make a fair claim of his selection, there needs to be a comparison with the current crop of openers.

The days of having a stable opening pair such as Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail are long gone for Pakistan cricket. To give you an example, since 2015 World Cup, Pakistan has tested 26 different opening partnerships in Test and ODIs both — level with Sri Lanka, who are equally as indecisive as us.

Since April 2017 — the last time Kamran Akmal played for Pakistan, here’s how his statistics look in domestic circuit since then:

	Matches	Innings	Runs	SR	Average	HS	100s	50s	MoM
T20s	21	20	856	165.57	50.35	150*	2	8	7
List A	11	11	607	106.68	55.18	200	2	1	3
First Class	8	11	418	61.20	32.15	139	1	2	2

In comparison, here is how current Pakistani openers fare:

Mohammad Hafeez

	Matches	Innings	Runs	SR	Average	HS	100s	50s	MoM
ODIs	10	9	231	76.24	28.88	81	0	2	0
T20Is	3	2	39	92.86	39.00	39	0	0	0
T20s	20	18	495	125.00	30.94	59	0	3	1
List A	1	1	5	50.00	5.00	5	0	0	0
First Class	5	8	166	56.27	20.75	37	0	0	0

Azhar Ali

	Matches	Innings	Runs	SR	Average	HS	100s	50s	MoM
ODIs	3	3	12	40.00	4.00	6	0	0	0
T20Is	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
T20s	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
List A	4	4	271	73.64	67.75	104	2	1	1
First Class	4	7	205	49.25	29.29	118	1	0	0

Ahmed Shehzad

	Matches	Innings	Runs	SR	Average	HS	100s	50s	MoM
ODIs	2	2	8	27.59	4.00	8	0	0	0
T20Is	4	4	112	103.70	28.00	44	0	0	0
T20s	18	17	514	124.15	32.13	104*	1	2	1
List A	7	7	403	100.25	67.17	162*	2	1	2
First Class	4	6	352	60.90	58.67	148	1	1	1

Fakhar Zaman

	Matches	Innings	Runs	SR	Average	HS	100s	50s	MoM
ODIs	9	9	298	82.78	37.25	82*	0	2	0
T20Is	6	6	147	127.83	24.50	50	0	1	0
T20s	13	11	306	144.34	27.82	94	0	1	1
List A	1	1	106	126.19	106.00	106	1	0	1
First Class	2	3	120	97.56	40.00	111	1	0	0

Imam-ul-Haq

	Matches	Innings	Runs	SR	Average	HS	100s	50s	MoM
ODIs	4	4	149	73.40	49.67	100	1	0	1
T20Is	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
T20s	8	8	287	128.13	41.00	111	1	0	1
List A	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
First Class	5	8	222	46.54	27.75	62	0	1	0

When drawn a comparison, it is evident that Kamran Akmal’s performances have been through the roof. Hafeez, Azhar, Shehzad, Fakhar and Imam all combined have managed 9 man of the match awards in domestic and international matches. On the flip side, Akmal has 12 alone and only in domestic level.

Final Words

Pakistan cricket team has slipped in ODI rankings and it is evident from the numbers that there is a huge problem with Pakistan’s opening batsmen. Failing to give a solid opening stand leads to instability throughout the innings and puts an extra burden on the middle-order i.e. Babar Azam and co.

Kamran’s inclusion not only brings experience but also good form and runs at the top of the order. As Akmal argued, Pakistan needs a blend of experience and young blood in order to succeed, which holds true in almost every sport.

Of course choosing youngsters over Kamran would make a tremendous amount of sense. However, there was a reason why Azhar Ali was promoted as an opener — it was because the management wasn’t willing to trust the new boys with the most crucial batting spot in the innings.

Although it is difficult to argue whether Akmal can replicate his performances on the international stage again or not but it is surely worth a try?