Kamran Akmal: “The same thing was bound to happen with Abrar, who took early wickets, but after that, you kept him with the team for a year, just travelling without giving him a game”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal has questioned why mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed barely got any opportunities despite taking so many wickets early on.
Abrar has enjoyed a fantastic start to his Test career, but was only utilised in one match during the recent two-Test series against Bangladesh, which Pakistan lost 2-0.
Many ex-players have also called for the 26-year-old to feature in limited overs cricket, but so far, the Karachi native has only played three T20Is – all of which came against New Zealand in April 2024.
Akmal pointed out that inconsistent game time and a lack of patience are among the reasons why Pakistan are failing to produce good spinners right now.
“The team management and captain lack the patience to develop spinners. Spinners take long overs to get wickets. Mystery spinners have come before; just look at Ajantha Mendis – early on, batters couldn’t figure out how to play him, but once they worked on it, they managed a little. The same thing was bound to happen with Abrar, who took early wickets, but after that, you kept him with the team for a year, just travelling without giving him a game,” he told Cricket Pakistan.
“If you’ve included him in the ODI team, then play him. If he’s in the T20I squad, then play him. You did the same thing in the World Cup. I don’t know what the approach was – whether you wanted to develop spinners or not. You didn’t let anyone come through because of Shadab. How can you expect new spinners to emerge if you don’t give them timely opportunities? You can see in the Test match, you’ve benched your main bowlers and are playing with an inexperienced bowling attack. Is this a Test match or club cricket?”
Following the Test series against Bangladesh, Abrar played for the Stallions in the Champions One-Day Cup, which was a domestic 50-over competition held in Faisalabad.
In the four games he played, he claimed five wickets at an average of 33.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a three-Test series against England, which is scheduled to take place from October 7 to 28 in Multan and Rawalpindi.
Pakistan Squad for 1st Test against England: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Shah Afridi.
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