Whereas Kamran Akmal has scored the second highest runs in the third edition of PSL, has been the highest scorer in all three editions put together, happens to be the only player to have scored centuries in this and last year’s editions, has hit maximum sixes and fours in all editions till date, has scored the fastest fifty in PSL history, he still has failed to impress Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur and those who are entrusted with the job of selecting the team for the country.

One is rather surprised to see what Arthur himself called "brutally honest" comments that he did not think Kamran, despite such an impressive form, fitted into his plans. He seems to have at least three objections: Kamran is already 36 years old while the coach is looking to constitute a team comprising mostly young players; secondly, with the captain of Pakistani team, Sarfraz Ahmed, keeping the wickets well, there seems to be no place for Kamran who is primarily a wicketkeeper, and that too not as good as Sarfraz; and finally, Kamran is not a good fielder either.

As regards the first objection, one may argue that age is increasingly becoming less relevant in this rapidly growing genre of cricket. There was a time when cricket used to be played in one-day and five-day formats and stamina was considered one of the primary requirements. Since the stamina decreases with age, the aging players were not considered agile enough. But this newer form of cricket, which has taken the game by storm, is such a short affair that whereas fitness remains relevant, stamina doesn’t. That is why sometimes the aging players, after having retired from other forms of cricket, keep playing T20s for some more time.

The other thing which is said about aging players is that their reflexes and responses become slower. Is this true in Kamran’s case? With almost 50 sixes and close to 100 fours to his credit in all editions of PSL, and leading the batting charts in these aspects, it is clear that his reflexes are still the best when he decides to throw the ball over the boundary in a flicker of a second.

Misbah remained the mainstay of our batting well into his 40s. We also see Shoaib Malik, who is almost the same age as Kamran, and Hafeez who is even a year older, figuring in national team’s scheme of things so why shut the doors so tightly on Kamran?

As regards the argument that in presence of Sarfraz we do not need an additional wicketkeeper in the team, who says Kamran should be included as a wicketkeeper? Why don’t the selectors, and for that matter, Mickey Arthur, see the heroics of Kamran as a batsman only and take a decision on that basis? If any of our openers, or even anyone in the top or middle order, is playing better than Kamran then let it be, but if he is surpassing others, give him another chance.

Batting has always remained our weakest link, and that too in all forms of the game. It is a well-known fact that most of our successes have come through our bowlers.

One must admit here that Kamran is not the finest of the fielders out there. In fact, he is a bad fielder, who made a mockery of himself by dropping a straight forward catch at the most critical juncture of the final match in the PSL. He must try his best to improve his fielding skills. Management, on its part, can give him clear targets in this regard, and let him prove his mettle in the fitness camp which is going to be held at the conclusion of T20 series against the West Indies. If Kamran shows visible improvement, he may be given another lifeline.

All said and done, one would like to remind Arthur here at the cost of repetition that while age seems to take its toll in many a case around, it seems but a number in Kamran’s case when it comes to his batting. It is no less than plain injustice if we do not consider him for selection despite his extraordinary performance. What good our first-class cricket is if we do not select the best performers out of it for our national team? To put it another way, why would a discarded player be motivated to give his best in local or first-class cricket if he knew that no matter what he did, he would not get selected?

If the coach was "brutally honest" in telling Kamran that he did not fit in Mickey’s scheme of things, let me be brutally honest too in telling him that Mickey, you got it wrong this time!

anwarehtasham@gmail.com