Thank God Jimmy Anderson is not from Pakistan, he would have been thrown out long ago due to his age: Kamran Akmal

Wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal has said that veteran England pacer James Anderson is lucky not to have hailed from Pakistan or else he would have been thrown out of the national team due to his age. Akmal’s remarks came after Pakistan’s 26-run defeat against England in the second Test match in Multan.

Explaining further, Akmal said that the Pakistani selectors and the team management somehow find a way to ignore a player after he reaches a certain age irrespective of how well they perform. Hailing the England team management, the veteran stumper mentioned that the Three Lions treat their senior players with respect and dignity and value their contributions.

We don't think about the country but about individuals: Kamran Akmal

"Thank God Jimmy Anderson is not from Pakistan. He would have been thrown out of the team long ago, citing his age as the reason. The other teams think about their country,” Akmal said on his YouTube channel.

"However, we do not have such a system. We don't think about the country but about individuals. Once a player gets old, we think of ways to remove him from the team,” he added.

Meanwhile, Anderson is showing no signs of slowing down on the cricket field and has been performing consistently with the ball in hand even at 40 years of age. Even in the ongoing series the veteran pacer has made a tremendous impact in the wickets column, having registered eight scalps in two Tests and is currently England’s second-highest wicket-taker.

He would be expected to add more scalps to his tally when both teams lock horns in the third and final Test at the National Stadium in Karachi on Saturday, December 17. The Three Lions have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and Pakistan, who have been knocked out of the World Test Championship contention, will now be looking to avoid a whitewash and salvage pride.