Is Kamran Akmal the most deserving opener for our T20I World Cup squad?

[Hawkeye]

183

Okay, if that makes you happy.

Thing is, others can't do it from PAK. Nobody else can, only Sharjeel can.

And these kind of players are gold today in T20s. Need exactly this kind of an opener. Go with his present form and the way he's timing the ball.

 

[Forum363]

Okay, if that makes you happy.

Thing is, others can't do it from PAK. Nobody else can, only Sharjeel can.

And these kind of players are gold today in T20s. Need exactly this kind of an opener. Go with his present form and the way he's timing the ball.

I have nothing against you brother. But when has Kamraan done this for Pakistan? If he is selected and helps us in the world T20, I will be extremely happy and happily come and say I was wrong.

However I just know he has consistently disappointed us and don't want to go through that again.

 

[Mamoon]

Kamran will most likely fail, but the other WKs are most likely to fail harder.

Hence his international record shouldn’t matter.

 

[Forum363]

I don’t expect him to succeed. I only expect him to do better relative to Rizwan/Sarfraz, or any opener that we will end up selecting to partner Babar.

I don’t mind Afridi in T20Is either when the alternatives are trash like Shadab, who is still struggling to outperform the former.

Every team picks players relative to the internal competition. If Pakistan decides to select players solely based on their ability to perform in international cricket, we won’t be able to field 11 players.

I am not arguing that Kamran will replicate his PSL form in international cricket.

Thats just not true. I would expect the following openers to perform better than Kamran based on his hundreds of matches:

Hafeez
Fakhar
Sharjeel
Afridi (as an opener, his bowling excluded)

If it comes down to it, across a whole tournament I would expect average/ slow paced batsmen (like Imam/ Shan/ Sarfaraz) to both outscore him and have a higher overall strikerate. Kami would play one 'blistering' innings in a random match and then fail in everything else to end up with a sub 20 average and 120 strike rate. His fans would jump up and down and say, at least he was 'impactful' in that innings, sarfaraz could never have done that.

 

[Danyaalr01]

Nope. We need proper smashers of the ball as openers.

Babar makes the batting stronger at #3.

Babar has become number 1 opening the batting. Why fix something that isn't broken. The other opening slot is the concern and I would rather have Sharjeel there if he can improve his fitness.

 

[Saj]

Wahab Riaz "There is no other batsman like Kamran Akmal in Pakistan"

 

[Saj]

There have been 6 hundreds in PSL history - Kamran Akmal has made 3 of them.

Centurions in PSL history:

127* Colin Ingram in 2019
117 Cameron Delport in 2019
117 Sharjeel Khan in 2016
107* Kamran Akmal in 2018
104 Kamran Akmal in 2017
101 Kamran Akmal in 2020

 

[Zaz]

Hes 38
Cant rotate strike
Has poor fitness
Cant catch or field
Has awful intnl batting stats over 100s of games

Weve been here dozens of times Any half decent intnl bowling attack will have him out in a few overs

Hes no intl player as has been proven time and time again Its high time we moved on from this recurring nonsense

 

[ZamanFan]

Hes 38
Cant rotate strike
Has poor fitness
Cant catch or field
Has awful intnl batting stats over 100s of games

Weve been here dozens of times Any half decent intnl bowling attack will have him out in a few overs

Hes no intl player as has been proven time and time again Its high time we moved on from this recurring nonsense

Not to forget he'll drop catches behind the wicket and will make Pakistan lose with his keeping only.

 

[Danyaalr01]

Wahab Riaz "There is no other batsman like Kamran Akmal in Pakistan"

He is right. Smashes it in domestic. Everyones bunny in international.

 

[Rana]

Wahab Riaz "There is no other batsman like Kamran Akmal in Pakistan"

Homies supporting each other

 

[Rana]

Hes 38
Cant rotate strike
Has poor fitness
Cant catch or field
Has awful intnl batting stats over 100s of games

Weve been here dozens of times Any half decent intnl bowling attack will have him out in a few overs

Hes no intl player as has been proven time and time again Its high time we moved on from this recurring nonsense

International cricket is a different ball game all-together. Kamran was a good ODI batsman but I doubt he will re-adapt to Cummins and Stark hitting the deck hard on short of a length.

 

[Kaddy]

Question is.
Will Umar Akmal's case hurt Kami bhai's chances of comeback?

 

[shamaan]

Defo deserves to be in the squad

 

[GreenKhan]

This. Since the only defence of his ******* is - who else if not Kami to open.

Sarfaraz
Fakhar
Haider Ali


Heck, I'd even open with Asif Ali. He has been rubbish in international, but with him there's a 1% chance he might suddenly do well. It's obviously a long shot but there's more chance of success then with Kami who is a guaranteed certified failure.

Some of the arguments by posters in this thread such as 'one last chance' and 'he's been out of form since 2009' LOL

Thanks ! I have nothing against the guy but he failed miserably in the 2014 t20 World Cup and also when he was recalled a few years later .

An average of 21 over 50 t20 matches plus an average of 25 in over a 150 one day matches should suggest that it’s not worth going back to him.

If we have Malik , hafeez and Akmal in the World Cup , we will have a trio of players who have failed at the highest level ( Icc tournaments) .

I rather have a trio of younger players . Even if they fail at least we have the hope that they can learn from the failures . This trio are just not mentally strong enough .

 

[ameemlutfi]

People against kamrans inclusion in the wc squad, so who would you want as the keeper sarfarz ?

 

[ads101]

He has to make it no question. Not fair to keep him out he looks absolutely leagues above the rest bar Babar. Thought he might finally be past it this year, but performing again this PSL. He's the senior we should be playing, a guy who can actually go to domestic and outperform the youngsters, not guys who can't do it at domestic anymore yet we presume are better at internationals. Hafeez and Malik can not play against pace anymore, never mind opening yet play over him, it's not fair.

 

[Hawkeye]

People against kamrans inclusion in the wc squad, so who would you want as the keeper sarfarz ?

They have no answer.

Some have the nerve to suggest Sarfraz, Imam, Shehzad etc.

Fact is, those players can't play like this even in their dreams.

They just don't have the timing and range of shots that Kami has. On their best days they can probably do 50% of what Kamran Akmal did today.

Yet they'll hate on Kami and ignore his present form, timing, shots.

 

[Kroll]

No doubt, Kami’s a PSL legend. But something about taking him to WC doesn’t sit well with me.

 

[shamaan]

They have no answer.

Some have the nerve to suggest Sarfraz, Imam, Shehzad etc.

Fact is, those players can't play like this even in their dreams.

They just don't have the timing and range of shots that Kami has. On their best days they can probably do 50% of what Kamran Akmal did today.

Yet they'll hate on Kami and ignore his present form, timing, shots.

Would you not take him in the squad even

 

[Hawkeye]

Would you not take him in the squad even

Who?

 

[Hawkeye]

There have been 6 hundreds in PSL history - Kamran Akmal has made 3 of them.

Centurions in PSL history:

127* Colin Ingram in 2019
117 Cameron Delport in 2019
117 Sharjeel Khan in 2016
107* Kamran Akmal in 2018
104 Kamran Akmal in 2017
101 Kamran Akmal in 2020

What a legend Kami is.

More than Kami, it's Pak team that needs Kami at the World T20.

 

[shamaan]

Who?

Kamran

 

[Hawkeye]

Kamran

Were you asking that from me, cuz I want him in the playing xi not just the squad.

The haters don't want him though.

 

[shariqnoor]

The fact that players aged almost 40 like Kamran and Afridi are outperforming young players reflects how dried up talent there is in Pakistan. Both Akmal and Afridi even at this age, walks into the current Pakistani team eyes closed.

 

[ads101]

Were you asking that from me, cuz I want him in the playing xi not just the squad.

The haters don't want him though.

People have to move past his previous history. I was one of Kamran's biggest haters while he was playing internationals regularly. Poor keeper, really bad record, averages mid 20s which was unacceptable given how many games he played. Was clearly talented but threw his wicket away so many times.

He clearly has gone back and improved himself, he never dominated like that in domestic cricket before he pretty much got permanently dropped. Making the big scores, which he never really used to do. I've got so much time for guys who really go back and work hard on improving themselves. Would have set an excellent precedent for others, go back and improve in domestic and you can turn international career around. Too many are terrified of being dropped forever and labelled Tried and Tested Failures (TTFs), it makes them scared to properly go for it or they have to play for their spots instead of what's best for the team.

Instead we've wasted years of Kamran's career. Years he should have been playing we've not played him. The years he shouldn't have been playing early on, and should have gone back to domestic then to work on himself, instead he was played. Absolute waste. Even if he comes back we'll only get perhaps 1 year or so worth given his age when we could have perhaps got 6 or so.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Bowling standard of PSL can't be that high if Kami is playing knocks like these . Either that or a 38 year old Kami is still among top 3 limited overs bats in Pakistan.

 

[Forum363]

There have been 6 hundreds in PSL history - Kamran Akmal has made 3 of them.

Centurions in PSL history:

127* Colin Ingram in 2019
117 Cameron Delport in 2019
117 Sharjeel Khan in 2016
107* Kamran Akmal in 2018
104 Kamran Akmal in 2017
101 Kamran Akmal in 2020

Kamran Akmal centuries in international cricket - 0

Kamran Akmal 50s - 5

Kamran Akmal strike rate - 119.6

Matches played - 58

Age - 38

Career - over

 

[Titan24]

The fact that players aged almost 40 like Kamran and Afridi are outperforming young players reflects how dried up talent there is in Pakistan. Both Akmal and Afridi even at this age, walks into the current Pakistani team eyes closed.

Its not only in Pakistan. Just to give few examples

-> Dhoni (38) outperformed many youngsters in IPL 2019, while 40 years old Gayle was 6th highest scorer and 34 year old Dhawan was 4th highest scorer and Warner (33) was highest.

-> 40 year old Imran Tahir was highest wicket taker in IPL 2019

-> Shaun Marsh (36) was 5th highest scorer in BBL 19 and still scores tons of runs in domestics. Peter Siddle (35) and Laughlin (37) outperformed quite a few young pacers in BBL 19.

-> Will Madsen (36) was the 5th highest scorer in Natwest T20 blast while Ravi Rampaul (35) was the highest wicket taker in Nawest T20 blast.

Its not the correct way to measure talent other wise cricket is dyeing everywhere.

 

[Titan24]

Bowling standard of PSL can't be that high if Kami is playing knocks like these . Either that or a 38 year old Kami is still among top 3 limited overs bats in Pakistan.

Its not only in Pakistan. Just to give few examples

-> Dhoni (38) outperformed many youngsters in IPL 2019, while 40 years old Gayle was 6th highest scorer and 34 year old Dhawan was 4th highest scorer and Warner (33) was highest. So not sure if an older guys score runs, it makes bowling poor.

-> 40 year old Imran Tahir was highest wicket taker in IPL 2019

-> Shaun Marsh (36) was 5th highest scorer in BBL 19 and still scores tons of runs in domestics. Peter Siddle (35) and Laughlin (37) outperformed quite a few young pacers in BBL 19.

-> Will Madsen (36) was the 5th highest scorer in Natwest T20 blast while Ravi Rampaul (35) was the highest wicket taker in Nawest T20 blast.

Its not the correct way to measure talent other wise cricket is dyeing everywhere.

 

[Titan24]

*dying

 

[Forum363]

People have to move past his previous history. I was one of Kamran's biggest haters while he was playing internationals regularly. Poor keeper, really bad record, averages mid 20s which was unacceptable given how many games he played. Was clearly talented but threw his wicket away so many times.

He clearly has gone back and improved himself, he never dominated like that in domestic cricket before he pretty much got permanently dropped. Making the big scores, which he never really used to do. I've got so much time for guys who really go back and work hard on improving themselves. Would have set an excellent precedent for others, go back and improve in domestic and you can turn international career around. Too many are terrified of being dropped forever and labelled Tried and Tested Failures (TTFs), it makes them scared to properly go for it or they have to play for their spots instead of what's best for the team.

Instead we've wasted years of Kamran's career. Years he should have been playing we've not played him. The years he shouldn't have been playing early on, and should have gone back to domestic then to work on himself, instead he was played. Absolute waste. Even if he comes back we'll only get perhaps 1 year or so worth given his age when we could have perhaps got 6 or so.

You’re acting like he played all his matches early on and then has been discarded completely since.

He has made numerous comebacks, each time on the back of stellar domestic performances. Each time he has performed at a 20ish average which is his limitation.

If you’re talking about players improving themselves, Shan is the perfect template. When he first played for Pakistan he was a club level batsman. However on the South Africa tour, he looked a class apart. Everyone including the commentators were full of praise. He is still not quite there yet and he needs to make runs to solidify the improvement, but the changes in his game are clear.

Did you watch Kamran bat? Has he improved his fitness? His footwork? His technique? Is he playing new shots? From what I see it’s the same old shots throwing the bat at it, which get him runs at domestic/ PSL but means he will always be rubbish at international.

 

[IAJ]

There have been 6 hundreds in PSL history - Kamran Akmal has made 3 of them.

Centurions in PSL history:

127* Colin Ingram in 2019
117 Cameron Delport in 2019
117 Sharjeel Khan in 2016
107* Kamran Akmal in 2018
104 Kamran Akmal in 2017
101 Kamran Akmal in 2020

Poor stuff from Akmal. He get’s out just after making 100, selfish player.

See, agr faults nikalnay hou kisi mein, woh bhot asaan hai

 

[Hawkeye]

People have to move past his previous history. I was one of Kamran's biggest haters while he was playing internationals regularly. Poor keeper, really bad record, averages mid 20s which was unacceptable given how many games he played. Was clearly talented but threw his wicket away so many times.

He clearly has gone back and improved himself, he never dominated like that in domestic cricket before he pretty much got permanently dropped. Making the big scores, which he never really used to do. I've got so much time for guys who really go back and work hard on improving themselves. Would have set an excellent precedent for others, go back and improve in domestic and you can turn international career around. Too many are terrified of being dropped forever and labelled Tried and Tested Failures (TTFs), it makes them scared to properly go for it or they have to play for their spots instead of what's best for the team.

Instead we've wasted years of Kamran's career. Years he should have been playing we've not played him. The years he shouldn't have been playing early on, and should have gone back to domestic then to work on himself, instead he was played. Absolute waste. Even if he comes back we'll only get perhaps 1 year or so worth given his age when we could have perhaps got 6 or so.

Absolutely. Spot on. He's one of those who does take domestic cricket seriously and proves his form there. Has been in supreme form for a few years now but not being selected for T20s.

People have to accept that he's no Rohit or Warner, but the best we have. He can do what others cannot, even when at their best.

We simply don't have the batters who can play shots like Kami does with proper timing, particularly during the initial power play.

 

[Forum363]

Thanks ! I have nothing against the guy but he failed miserably in the 2014 t20 World Cup and also when he was recalled a few years later .

An average of 21 over 50 t20 matches plus an average of 25 in over a 150 one day matches should suggest that it’s not worth going back to him.

If we have Malik , hafeez and Akmal in the World Cup , we will have a trio of players who have failed at the highest level ( Icc tournaments) .

I rather have a trio of younger players . Even if they fail at least we have the hope that they can learn from the failures . This trio are just not mentally strong enough .

Exactly! Imagine having Haider Ali opening in the world cup. He plays all the games and scores at an average of 25.

That will be the same as Kamran's output but it sets up Haider's career.

 

[Kroll]

Kamran Akmal centuries in international cricket - 0

Kamran Akmal 50s - 5

Kamran Akmal strike rate - 119.6

Matches played - 58

Age - 38

Career - over

Bit of a deeper dive. These stats will consider Test playing nations only (- Ireland) Kami's average strike rate of 119.6 is only higher against Australia at 138. Though, he has played more matches against Aus than anyone else.

Against all the other sides, his average SR drops to 105.6, against India its only 82.9 after 6 matches. His batting average against Aus is 45.7 but drops to 15 against the other teams against career average of 18.8.

So, the only team Kamran has done well against is Aus and been mediocre everywhere else. Bear in mind though that most of Kami's matches against Aus were from 2009-2012.

 

[OhTwadi]

Kami must come back

 

[ads101]

You’re acting like he played all his matches early on and then has been discarded completely since.

He has made numerous comebacks, each time on the back of stellar domestic performances. Each time he has performed at a 20ish average which is his limitation.

If you’re talking about players improving themselves, Shan is the perfect template. When he first played for Pakistan he was a club level batsman. However on the South Africa tour, he looked a class apart. Everyone including the commentators were full of praise. He is still not quite there yet and he needs to make runs to solidify the improvement, but the changes in his game are clear.

Did you watch Kamran bat? Has he improved his fitness? His footwork? His technique? Is he playing new shots? From what I see it’s the same old shots throwing the bat at it, which get him runs at domestic/ PSL but means he will always be rubbish at international.

He made several comebacks when he just wasn't dropped enough long enough always found himself back soon to the team. Post 2013 is really when Kamran really set domestic alight, was dropped long enough to really work on his batting. Perhaps his fault that he didn't work hard on it in before 2013. He never really ever did enough to get back into the team pre 2013 when he was dropped. It was more just saying no other keeper could hold a bat. When sarfraz started performing with the bat, Kamran was gone. Probably why he worked hard, saying he aimed to come back as a batsman/opener not as a wicket keeper given he knew Sarfraz wouldn't be dropped. Got the boot he finally needed to improve.

He always had the talent, he just isn't throwing his wicket away as much. He got a chance back in 2017 but was a very short amount of games just one tour and should have got a longer rope given he was coming back to internationals after a long time. He got a few starts, he might have gone ahead and done more with a longer run.

Issue with Masood is he isn't as talented/has the hand-eye coordination. Doesn't have great domestic performances except in list A where he's a bit slow. Doesn't have the array of scoring shots. Hasn't done well in PSL. I hope he makes it, particularly in tests. But the thread isn't about him. Kamran has been performing in all formats for a long time and particularly in PSL which is the highest level of domestic limited overs we have. There's a reason why most of our Pakistani batsmen struggle to perform. And yet somehow Kamran is leagues above the rest of the Pakistani batsmen. There's got to be a reason for that, there's no fluke how he keeps performing each time.

 

[Forum363]

Bit of a deeper dive. These stats will consider Test playing nations only (- Ireland) Kami's average strike rate of 119.6 is only higher against Australia at 138. Though, he has played more matches against Aus than anyone else.

Against all the other sides, his average SR drops to 105.6, against India its only 82.9 after 6 matches. His batting average against Aus is 45.7 but drops to 15 against the other teams against career average of 18.8.

So, the only team Kamran has done well against is Aus and been mediocre everywhere else. Bear in mind though that most of Kami's matches against Aus were from 2009-2012.

Thank you for this. A good insight into why he has been so consistently poor for us. Perhaps if he was in his 20s you could argue that he might improve. But at 38, he shouldn't even be in discussions.

 

[Forum363]

He made several comebacks when he just wasn't dropped enough long enough always found himself back soon to the team. Post 2013 is really when Kamran really set domestic alight, was dropped long enough to really work on his batting. Perhaps his fault that he didn't work hard on it in before 2013. He never really ever did enough to get back into the team pre 2013 when he was dropped. It was more just saying no other keeper could hold a bat. When sarfraz started performing with the bat, Kamran was gone. Probably why he worked hard, saying he aimed to come back as a batsman/opener not as a wicket keeper given he knew Sarfraz wouldn't be dropped. Got the boot he finally needed to improve.

He always had the talent, he just isn't throwing his wicket away as much. He got a chance back in 2017 but was a very short amount of games just one tour and should have got a longer rope given he was coming back to internationals after a long time. He got a few starts, he might have gone ahead and done more with a longer run.

Issue with Masood is he isn't as talented/has the hand-eye coordination. Doesn't have great domestic performances except in list A where he's a bit slow. Doesn't have the array of scoring shots. Hasn't done well in PSL. I hope he makes it, particularly in tests. But the thread isn't about him. Kamran has been performing in all formats for a long time and particularly in PSL which is the highest level of domestic limited overs we have. There's a reason why most of our Pakistani batsmen struggle to perform. And yet somehow Kamran is leagues above the rest of the Pakistani batsmen. There's got to be a reason for that, there's no fluke how he keeps performing each time.

So only when he was dropped properly, did he start performing at domestic. You could argue that this is evidence he has improved his game, and the international chances he got after that he was unlucky and needed more time.

However what is far more likely is that, after being dropped Kamran set the domestic scene on fire because that is his level. He did not need to improve his game/ fitness, technique etc because it wasn't required. That is why he continued in line with his 20ish average whenever he was selected.

 

[Mirpur express]

Domestic beast for sure but flops every time he is given a chance so no for me & big no on Shaan too

 

[Zaz]

How has he improved his game?

Is he fitter? Does he have more release shots?
Does he still rely on boundaries or has he improved his dot percentage n strike rotation?

To me he still looks the same player he was 10 years back
Dry his boundaries, feed him outside off stump n watch him throw his wicket away

 

[Pakpak]

People against kamrans inclusion in the wc squad, so who would you want as the keeper sarfarz ?

Sarfraz has a better SR and average than Kamran in T20

 

[Osman]

The sad thing is that its the year 2020 and we could be going to a world cup with Hafeez, Malik and Kamran Akmal as part of the top 6. Just like the 2007 WC and CT 2013 debacles. Honestly have no words. Pakistan cricket is so far behind teams like England (who got rid of big names like Anderson and Broad from their limited overs teams) and this is one of the reasons why.

 

[Pakpak]

The sad thing is that its the year 2020 and we could be going to a world cup with Hafeez, Malik and Kamran Akmal as part of the top 6. Just like the 2007 WC and CT 2013 debacles. Honestly have no words. Pakistan cricket is so far behind teams like England (who got rid of big names like Anderson and Broad from their limited overs teams) and this is one of the reasons why.

The worse thing is our fans are the ones who keep demanding these failures are included every time every tour despite 15 years of repeated call ups and failures.

 

[Sadozai]

I am not Kami's fan mainly due to his poor keeping but in my opinion he should be in the national T20 squad. He merits place in the national t20 side as an opening batsman alone.

 

[Hawkeye]

Sarfraz has a better SR and average than Kamran in T20

Goes to show you lack any cricketing iq and acumen. Nobody in their right mind can compare an extremely limited batter like Sarfraz to a dynamic bat like Kami.

Completely different batsmen but no, you're gonna blindly go for spreadsheet. Cuz you can't comprehend how batting works, what is timing, range of shots, ability to play pacers etc.

 

[Mrhandsome]

Hell no. Kamran Akmal has bought us enough disgrace and shame already. A generation of Pakistan fans have suffered because of him. The mental torture and agony...

 

[Master Blaster]

Best international T20 bat...

 

[srh]

his time is past, time to move forward, go with talented young players

 

[aloo paratha]

He will probably be selected for our next T20 series, and be exposed again, just like last time.

 

[Nado_]

You can be fair to criticise him on his age and recent comebacks to international level. But people criticising his overall career fail to realise he has played some great knocks in his time, can be an explosive player on his day and was one of the major players to help us win 2009 T20

 

[Bigboii]

Homies supporting each other

More like TTF supporting each other

 

[Kroll]

The sad thing is that its the year 2020 and we could be going to a world cup with Hafeez, Malik and Kamran Akmal as part of the top 6. Just like the 2007 WC and CT 2013 debacles. Honestly have no words. Pakistan cricket is so far behind teams like England (who got rid of big names like Anderson and Broad from their limited overs teams) and this is one of the reasons why.

Good thing is, there's no official talk yet of Kami being selected. Nasser Hussain must be beside himself if he hears that Kami could get selected alongside Malik and Hafeez.

 

[Forum363]

You can be fair to criticise him on his age and recent comebacks to international level. But people criticising his overall career fail to realise he has played some great knocks in his time, can be an explosive player on his day and was one of the major players to help us win 2009 T20

Yes, to be fair, he really played out of his skin to increase his average to 26 at a strike rate of 125 in that tournament.

That was when he was batting well, in his prime and 11 years younger.

Do we really expect him to do better in Australia at 38 years old?

 

[Saj]

What was brilliant about that innings today was the way he timed the ball from the start when others had struggled to get going particularly in the Quetta innings.

 

[Hasan123]

He was never that bad a LO player. We never used him correctly and his keeping was awful at times.

We shouldn't select him because we need to move on. There is no use in selecting Kamran ,Hafeez,and Malik as they don't have a long term future in international cricket.

 

[Nado_]

Yes, to be fair, he really played out of his skin to increase his average to 26 at a strike rate of 125 in that tournament.

That was when he was batting well, in his prime and 11 years younger.

Do we really expect him to do better in Australia at 38 years old?

Did I say that? Read what I said, I said it’s fair to criticise his recent comebacks but people shouldn’t smudge his entire career

 

[Hawkeye]

Did I say that? Read what I said, I said it’s fair to criticise his recent comebacks but people shouldn’t smudge his entire career

[MENTION=144683]Forum363[/MENTION] is trying his best to bring some random useless spreadsheet stats here, completely ignoring Kami's great form in recent years, and the fact that he has been far better than everyone else in Pak as a T20 opener.

When asked who is the best T20 opener in Pak currently, everyone will answer Kami.

But Forum363 will bring useless stats from before which don't matter now and don't apply to a beast he has become now. He's in denial that players transform. Also in denial that nobody else is better right now.

 

[TeamPak95]

No doubt, Kami’s a PSL legend. But something about taking him to WC doesn’t sit well with me.

Lol same. Batting, more or less, wasn't really the question. It's if he's competent with the gloves. One catch dropped and all the knives of existence will be out.

 

[gazza619]

Kamran will most likely fail, but the other WKs are most likely to fail harder.

Hence his international record shouldn’t matter.

Why & why?

 

[sshakir411]

Even England stopped picking Ramprakash despite his legendary domestic performances. Some players can't hack it internationally. Bit Akmals brain dead fans don't realise it. The guy is almost 40. He's failed so many times I've lost count playing for Pakistan. Yet these morons expect him to be a revelation again.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is what you call insanity. Akmal fans are truly insane.

 

[sshakir411]

Kami is a has been. It’s irrelevant what he does in any league now.

 

[Pakpak]

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is what you call insanity. Akmal fans are truly insane.

Like I posted earlier, I had this debate worth 6 pages last time after a PSL too. And he failed that tour miserably too. He made 48 in one match and 36 at an average of 12 in the other THREE. Even if we look at his average over his career, it's mediocre to say the least.

I remember Luke Wright doing very well one PSL. Imagine if England started selecting him again. Our cricket is rotten, we have Faf retiring at 36 and here we make Azhar the captain at the same age. We can't blame our board either as you can see our blind fans keep demanding the inclusion of 40 year old has-beens again and again. Hafeez is over 40 (I know that personally as a fact) and yet our fans clamour for his inclusion too. Kamran has been a failure again and again. The numbers prove it. t's utterly insane why we have threads like this.

 

[Forum363]

Like I posted earlier, I had this debate worth 6 pages last time after a PSL too. And he failed that tour miserably too. He made 48 in one match and 36 at an average of 12 in the other THREE. Even if we look at his average over his career, it's mediocre to say the least.

I remember Luke Wright doing very well one PSL. Imagine if England started selecting him again. Our cricket is rotten, we have Faf retiring at 36 and here we make Azhar the captain at the same age. We can't blame our board either as you can see our blind fans keep demanding the inclusion of 40 year old has-beens again and again. Hafeez is over 40 (I know that personally as a fact) and yet our fans clamour for his inclusion too. Kamran has been a failure again and again. The numbers prove it. t's utterly insane why we have threads like this.

I feel you brother. I literally feel the same way.

Ultimately people like what they like and its a common occurrence in sport for people to be fans of certain players, even without a consistent performance.

Yet I have never seen or heard anything like the Akmal mafia who seem hell bent on recalling him to the team no matter how many times he’s failed. ‘Oh but this time will be different, he’s never looked this good before in domestic’.

 

[Forum363]

Did I say that? Read what I said, I said it’s fair to criticise his recent comebacks but people shouldn’t smudge his entire career

You said we shouldnt smudge his entire career because he performed well sometimes for example he was one of the major players to win us the 09. I posted his stats from that tournament to show how he did during a ‘good tournament’ for him.

But ofcourse stats dont matter.

If you look in detail, his entire career for Pakistan has been a farce. A few good innings laced between hundreds of chances.

 

[hitthestump]

I get that his international stats are average but he's been out of the side for ages now. Kamran can improve and it seems he has done over the past few years. This may have given him that hunger to work on his batting harder than ever.

At the very least he deserves the gloves for next T20 series. Rizwan hasn't nailed anything down and we only just got rid of specialist captain.

 

[Forum363]

[MENTION=144683]Forum363[/MENTION] is trying his best to bring some random useless spreadsheet stats here, completely ignoring Kami's great form in recent years, and the fact that he has been far better than everyone else in Pak as a T20 opener.

When asked who is the best T20 opener in Pak currently, everyone will answer Kami.

But Forum363 will bring useless stats from before which don't matter now and don't apply to a beast he has become now. He's in denial that players transform. Also in denial that nobody else is better right now.

He mentioned the 09 world cup... I posted the stats from that tournament. How is that useless spreadsheet stats, please explain?

No, everyone will not answer Kami. Anyone with half a brain would say Babar. The likes of Sharjeel and Fakhar are also ahead of him. If you include his atrocious fielding / keeping then he wont even make the top ten.

Players do transform. Kami never has and never will.

 

[hitthestump]

What was brilliant about that innings today was the way he timed the ball from the start when others had struggled to get going particularly in the Quetta innings.

Also the fact that they tried a spinner with the new ball which is a massive deviation given how good their pacers are.

It really goes to show how fearful teams are of Kami when they are changing their game plans so drastically.

 

[Pakpak]

I feel you brother. I literally feel the same way.

Ultimately people like what they like and its a common occurrence in sport for people to be fans of certain players, even without a consistent performance.

Yet I have never seen or heard anything like the Akmal mafia who seem hell bent on recalling him to the team no matter how many times he’s failed. ‘Oh but this time will be different, he’s never looked this good before in domestic’.

Funny thing is no other self respecting professional that I've ever heard of across ANY sport did it but Kamran asked to be given, not one chance but three chances so he doesn't even back himself to do well and knows he will fail 2/3 times so he most likely knows he's rubbish himself I mean the last series he played he failed in 3/4 innings so hes not far off but it shows what a circus it is with him and his fans.

 

[Forum363]

Funny thing is no other self respecting professional that I've ever heard of across ANY sport did it but Kamran asked to be given, not one chance but three chances so he doesn't even back himself to do well and knows he will fail 2/3 times so he most likely knows he's rubbish himself I mean the last series he played he failed in 3/4 innings so hes not far off but it shows what a circus it is with him and his fans.

Yes, I remember that.

The year is 2014. Kamran has been dropped for a while but started to perform well in domestic and goes on record to say ‘Its because Im a top order player. Give me 3 chances as opener and if i fail, I wont complain even if I am dropped PERMANENTLY.’

Ofcourse Pakistan select him for the t20 world cup. He plays each of the 4 group games as an opener.... scores something like 50 runs total at less than a 100 strike rate. Let that sink in.

He completely ruined our chances.

And yet, 6 YEARS LATER, people want him to ruin another world cup for us. Why do we not learn?

 

[Monsee]

Pak fans have to be the craziest ever to want a bonafied choker and over the hill unfit domestic bully back in the team...the one who complained about too much emphasis on fitness and youngsters, well maybe he wants to continue playing till he is 60 years old so that he cannot allow any newer talent to make it to the team. What a nut, what nut!

 

[sweep_shot]

If he keeps on performing, he should be in the side. But, if Sharjeel is back, Sharjeel should play ahead of him.

 

[iniqbal223]

Best Solution is, make the below team for T20 WC, and we know the result (which will help Pakistan cricket in longer run)

Give every one including Misbah and Waqar a graceful exit from international careers

K Akmal
Salman Butt
Khurram Manzoor
Umar Akmal
Hafeez
Malik(c)
Anwar Ali
Sohail Tanveer
Yasir Shah
Wahab Riaz
Md Irfan

 

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

Goes to show you lack any cricketing iq and acumen. Nobody in their right mind can compare an extremely limited batter like Sarfraz to a dynamic bat like Kami.

Completely different batsmen but no, you're gonna blindly go for spreadsheet. Cuz you can't comprehend how batting works, what is timing, range of shots, ability to play pacers etc.

Your cheerleading of Akmal's case is frankly hilarious, if not pointless. So let's deconstruct some of the more nonsensical things you've suggested to get this guy in the world cup squad:

1) You want to drop Babar down to number 3 to accommodate Kami. Anyone with 2 brain cells can see that Babar is most effective in T20 cricket if he's allowed a settling in period by playing the maximum amount of balls. This is what's made him one of the most effective t20 batsmen in the world, officially #1 in the format and one of Pakistan's few batting success stories in T20. But Yes, let's move THAT guy down to number 3 to accommodate a 38 year old with a questionable international record. Bravo . Team combination and dynamic be damned.

2) So we've established that He's not displacing Babar at the top if there's any semblance of reason from Misbah . "But, but, but, he can play as Babar's opening partner! ". Nope, wrong again. We are now beginning to see the emergence of opening batsmen alternatives for Pakistan. Sharjeel, once he gets enough overs in his belt will surely be tried again ahead of the World Cup. Fakhar Zaman will also make a comeback I feel. Don't sleep on Zeeshan Ashraf in this tournament either. And all these guys are younger than Kami. What Pak really needs is Kami to play in the middle order...

3) Kami in the middle order? - This absolutely doesn't work either, because Kami needs a fresh new ball to smash around to be halfway effective. Does he have the stamina to run quick singles and rotate strike regularly in those large Aussie grounds? Has he ever shown any inclination to get fit? He's one of the old guard that thinks fitness should not be a criterion for selection, something implemented by Misbah himself. And last we checked, he failed all his PCB domestic fitness tests. So there's that.

4) But if not Kami, then WHO keeps? I think what Pakistan need given there team combination, is a middle order hustler at number 4 who hits the odd four but gives strike to a Babar regularly. Sarfaraz is that guy, as he's actually tried to improve hi fitness. Also, don't sleep on Zeeshan Ashraf.

So in closing, please let's move away from this discussion. Please. It's tiresome that every time these old timers do well at a lower level to international cricket, on helpful pitches and small boundaries against varying quality of bowlers, we think that they can provide solutions.

They can't. Move on.

 

[Pakpak]

Your cheerleading of Akmal's case is frankly hilarious, if not pointless. So let's deconstruct some of the more nonsensical things you've suggested to get this guy in the world cup squad:

1) You want to drop Babar down to number 3 to accommodate Kami. Anyone with 2 brain cells can see that Babar is most effective in T20 cricket if he's allowed a settling in period by playing the maximum amount of balls. This is what's made him one of the most effective t20 batsmen in the world, officially #1 in the format and one of Pakistan's few batting success stories in T20. But Yes, let's move THAT guy down to number 3 to accommodate a 38 year old with a questionable international record. Bravo . Team combination and dynamic be damned.

2) So we've established that He's not displacing Babar at the top if there's any semblance of reason from Misbah . "But, but, but, he can play as Babar's opening partner! ". Nope, wrong again. We are now beginning to see the emergence of opening batsmen alternatives for Pakistan. Sharjeel, once he gets enough overs in his belt will surely be tried again ahead of the World Cup. Fakhar Zaman will also make a comeback I feel. Don't sleep on Zeeshan Ashraf in this tournament either. And all these guys are younger than Kami. What Pak really needs is Kami to play in the middle order...

3) Kami in the middle order? - This absolutely doesn't work either, because Kami needs a fresh new ball to smash around to be halfway effective. Does he have the stamina to run quick singles and rotate strike regularly in those large Aussie grounds? Has he ever shown any inclination to get fit? He's one of the old guard that thinks fitness should not be a criterion for selection, something implemented by Misbah himself. And last we checked, he failed all his PCB domestic fitness tests. So there's that.

4) But if not Kami, then WHO keeps? I think what Pakistan need given there team combination, is a middle order hustler at number 4 who hits the odd four but gives strike to a Babar regularly. Sarfaraz is that guy, as he's actually tried to improve hi fitness. Also, don't sleep on Zeeshan Ashraf.

So in closing, please let's move away from this discussion. Please. It's tiresome that every time these old timers do well at a lower level to international cricket, on helpful pitches and small boundaries against varying quality of bowlers, we think that they can provide solutions.

They can't. Move on.

Top post. And funny thing is Sarfraz despite being questionable himself has a better average and strike rate than Akmal

 

[Mueez]

Domestic lion.

International mouse.

That's Kamran Akmal for you.

Summed it up perfectly.

 

[dhump]

Domestic bully who is a terrible wicket keeper with horrible fitness and he is officially 38 so you can only imagine his real age.

Keep them Akmals away from the team they are trouble.

 

[Nado_]

You said we shouldnt smudge his entire career because he performed well sometimes for example he was one of the major players to win us the 09. I posted his stats from that tournament to show how he did during a ‘good tournament’ for him.

But ofcourse stats dont matter.

If you look in detail, his entire career for Pakistan has been a farce. A few good innings laced between hundreds of chances.

Stats in a tournament don’t always paint the whole picture. Watch the games that we won in the tournament, Akmal gave us some crucial starts. Was one of our best players in the following tournament which we would have won if it weren’t for that one brutal Hussey over.

 

[Maher96]

If the total was 200 he would not have made these runs. Kami runs come in meaningless encounters. Only bowler of note there was Hasnain. He took spinners apart as usual.

Let the whole PSL go on. Sarfraz is looking on par too.