Discarded Pakistan cricketer Ahmed Shehzad, who was touted to be one of the most promising white-ball cricketers during his days, was recently in news as he slammed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for his ousting from the squad. Shehzad blamed the then Pakistan coach Waqar Younis for his unceremonious exit from the squad and also said he was not allowed to tell his side of the story.
Coming out in support of Shehzad, former Pakistan wicketkeeper batsman Kamran Akmal has hit out against PCB for not allowing Shehzad to enter high performance camp.
Speaking on YouTube channel paktv.tv, Akmal said PCB didn’t allow Shehzad saying the camp was not for players who have been out of the squad for more than two years.
“They don’t allow him in the high-performance training camp. They told him that players who are out of the side for the past 2 years are not allowed. This is the state (of cricket here). They are basically denying entry to players who have represented Pakistan in 100-150 matches. I don’t know where we are going,” Akmal said on paktv.tv.
Akmal went on to add that the process of sending an email to PCB to enter the high performance camp should be for U-19 players and not for those who have played fair amount of cricket at the senior level.
“You’ve made high performance camp for cricketers. At least make it available for them. Now, you have to send e-mail to team’s office before entering. What’s the logic behind this? Even if you are making such SOPs, do this for U19 players.”
Akmal also went on to add that when he used to play for Pakistan, the current PCB chairman Ramiz Raja used to access the facilities.
“When we were there, Ramiz bhai used to access the facilities inside the training camp. He knows these things. People should ask, why are these SOPs in place?
“He should take notice of this. Ramiz bhai used to come in the camp years after retiring from the game. Can the people at high performance camp dare to stop him now? Can they stop Wasim bhai, Shoaib Akhtar now? I was so sad when Ahmed was stopped from entering, they told him he can’t use the facility because he has been out of the team for 2 years,” Akmal said.
