Kamran Akmal: “He plays domestic cricket. Selection shouldn’t be solely based on [the] PSL. There is T20 cricket and ODI. He has left four-day cricket but there is Test cricket, he can still make a comeback in Test cricket”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Kamran Akmal believes Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir “can still make a comeback in Test cricket” even though he no longer plays first-class cricket.
Amir’s last Test for Pakistan came in January 2019 and he ended up retiring from international cricket altogether in December 2020.
While the Gujjar Khan native has shown no signs of coming out of retirement, Akmal feels that if he were to, he could fit right into the Test team.
However, the former wicketkeeper-batsman made it clear that active domestic players should be given priority over Amir.
“He plays domestic cricket. Selection shouldn’t be solely based on [the] PSL. There is T20 cricket and ODI. He has left four-day cricket but there is Test cricket, he can still make a comeback in Test cricket. He can perform well but you should first pay attention to players who are active in first-class cricket,” he said on Events & Happenings Sports’ Youtube channel as quoted by Cricwick.
Pakistan are currently playing a two-Test series against Sri Lanka and hold a 1-0 lead after winning the first Test in Galle by four wickets.
The second Test will start on July 24 in Colombo.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka Test Series:Â Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Muhammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood