Former Pakistani speedster Mohammad Amir hits back at his country cricket board for selecting players on fewer matches and giving PSL more importance rather than domestic cricket.
The left-arm pacer who recently interacted with PakPassion.net went on to compare Pakistan with India, England, and New Zealand where the latter teams pick players based on their first-class cricket.
“Look at the players that India, England, and New Zealand are bringing into international cricket. They are ready to play at the highest level as they have done the hard yards and have completed their learning in the domestic and junior systems. Once selected, they show their skills in international cricket which they have already learned in domestic cricket.”
“Whereas in Pakistan, at the moment, our players are expected to learn from the national coaches while playing international cricket, rather than having already learned the art of cricket earlier in their careers,” Amir said.
He also gave the example of several Indian youngsters including the likes of Surya Kumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya who plays for their national side after impressing in their respective domestic season for years.
“Look at Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, and Krunal Pandya, they looked ready and primed for international cricket when they made their debuts and did not look to need much advice or coaching at all. They have played several years of domestic cricket and the IPL and that makes their introduction into international cricket much smoother.”
He concluded by stating that our players are not mature when they debut for their national side and they start learning at the International level.
“International cricket isn’t school cricket where you learn on the job. It’s a tough environment where only players who are ready and who have learned about the game and obtained the necessary skills should be selected. If you want to learn about cricket, do it at the academy or in First-Class cricket, don’t come to international cricket underprepared and hope to learn whilst playing for your country.”
“Too often our [Pakistan] young players are thrown into international cricket with technical flaws, with issues in their game, in the hope that they will improve. Well, it doesn’t work like that at all and the sooner we realize it, the better it will be,” the former pacer said.
