What if a decade-old cricket league had nothing to show for itself when it comes to batting talent? That’s the uncomfortable question Wasim Akram is now asking about the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
The legendary fast bowler has openly criticised the PSL’s track record as a talent pipeline for the national team, pointing out that it hasn’t produced a batter anywhere close to the level of India’s young sensation, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. According to Wasim Akram, if Pakistan wants to compete at the top level again, the PSL needs to start producing batting talent the way its rival nation has managed to.
Wasim Akram brings serious credibility to this conversation. He’s had a hugely successful coaching career across both the IPL and the PSL, and holds the distinction of being the first person to be part of title-winning squads in both the leagues. He worked as the bowling coach and mentor for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL between 2010 and 2017, and has held leadership positions with several PSL franchises, including Islamabad United, Multan Sultans and Karachi Kings.
Speaking on the issue, Wasim Akram pointed out that despite the PSL completing ten years, it still hasn’t produced a single batter of real note, while a few good bowlers have emerged, there’s been no comparable batting talent to show for it. He added that real improvement will only come once Pakistan manages to produce a young batting talent comparable to the 14-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (who is 15 now).
He connected this lack of talent development to Pakistan’s struggles in the ongoing three-match Test series against England, where the team lost the first two matches and had to make a controversial mid-series shake-up of the squad. Wasim Akram noted that the batters were playing too defensively against the England bowlers specially spinner Ollie Robinson, staying rooted at the crease instead of moving forward with confidence and stressed that this kind of courage on the field only comes when there’s genuine talent behind it.
Wasim Akram, who himself came up through the Ludhiana Gymkhana cricket club, also called for stronger investment in grassroots cricket. He suggested that improving red-ball cricket in Pakistan starts with reviving club-level cricket and proposed that the Pakistan Cricket Board invest 100 million rupees each in Karachi and Lahore, since that’s traditionally where talent has come from.
Let’s see how the PCB will react to it.
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