Akmal endorsed Vaughan’s controversial statement that playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is better than playing against Pakistan due to their poor performance lately.
Vaughan’s remark elicited a lot of discussion, with the former Pakistani player sharing his opinion. Although Vaughan’s comment was criticised for being politically incorrect toward international cricket, it also reinforced IPL as one of the leading T20 leagues.
However, when making a comment on the ongoing T20I series between Pakistan and England, ex-England captain made it clear that the England Cricket Board (ECB) had to allow its cricketers to play in the IPL rather than returning for tour against Pakistan.
Vaughan argued that participation in the IPL would have ensured improved national team preparations towards forthcoming T20 World Cup. This view further highlights how important franchise-based leagues like IPL can be used to develop players’ abilities and acumen ahead of any major tournament; hence prompting debates around striking a balance between league commitments and national duties.
In a recent video on his YouTube channel ‘Catch And Bat with Kamran Akmal’, he shared this sentiment saying “Pakistan’s recent performances have not been up to scratch”. He then went on to describe it as “difficult competitive cricket” thereby emphasizing how challenging this competition is.
This shows acknowledgment within cricketing circles of the prominence of IPL and challenges posed by it, an endorsement by Kamran Akmal accompanies him in recognizing this fact.
“During these past few days I have been wondering why a former England captain has taken Pakistani cricket so lightly. It has been painful thought but I think he was right,” said Akmal
“But everybody knows about Pakistan cricket where we are losing matches against smaller teams like Ireland and therefore Vaughan said that is not any difficult series. So all faults belong to us. If there was any other team like New Zealand, South Africa or India then Vaughan never spoke about it.”
“That is because in IPL the best bowlers and batsmen are competing with crowds of up to 40-50,000. So it is tough cricket and quality cricket,” explained Akmal.
Michael Vaughan Ki Statement se Mein Agree Karta Hon | Kamran Akmal
Akmal has further recommended that Pakistan uses Vaughan’s remarks as a ‘motivation’ ahead of the T20 World Cup.
“Pakistan cricket is in a mess, but it also provides an opportunity for growth. What do we do about Vaughan’s criticism? By showing our mettle in the upcoming T20 series against England. This should be a jump start towards regaining our confidence and competitiveness or else even teams like USA will think we are pushovers.”
“All this has been done by Pakistan cricket Chairman as he really killed all systems. For now let us see whether Pakistan team rises from here or keeps playing at this position,” he concluded.
