Pakistan need a star management to move forward, says Shoaib Akhtar

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar hasn’t had a happy mood this summer, thanks to his country’s premature exit from the cricket World Cup held in England and Wales. The Men in Green made a valiant comeback towards the end of their campaign but the poor start had left far great damage than they could make up.

There are talks of starting split captaincy in Pakistan cricket now and Akhtar even suggested making Haris Sohail as the skipper in the limited-over formats and Babar Azam in Tests. Akhtar, 43, also feels that Pakistan need more modern players with ‘star’ value if they aspire to go to a new direction. He said such players would not only bring in new blood but also a new attitude and know about modern cricket. The former fast bowler with 444 international wickets said on his official YouTube channel.

“I have told Pakistan to bring in players of modern times with star value. They should be new additions who are new blood and can bring in a new attitude who know about modern cricket,” Akhtar said. The former cricketer, who was dubbed as the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ in his playing days, also said that he didn’t need a job and was just advising the Pakistan Cricket Board about a strategy to move forward.

“What do they (Pakistan) need to do? How can they change the whole scenario of Pakistan cricket? Look, I am not someone who needs a job. I am not someone who needs to be somewhere. Allah has given me everything,” he said.

‘Seniors I worked with have no clue about cricket’

He also said that a ‘star’ management is required in place. According to him, until that happens, one will never have a star or match-winning team. He didn’t mince words to say that the seniors he worked with have no clue about cricket. “They have been big batsman or big bowlers but they have no knowledge of cricket whatsoever. They don’t have any clue about the requirements of modern-day cricket,” he said.

The former pacer also expressed his dissatisfaction with the current management of Pakistan by a conversation he had with some senior members. “I asked four senior star players that how many players are allowed outside the circle in the third powerplay. They didn’t even know that,” he said. “All of them want to be coaches for Pakistan. All of them want to be coaches based on their name value.” Akhtar said this hinting at both senior players from Pakistan and India.

About people who could coach Pakistan, Akhtar picked names like Mohammad Yousuf, Mohammad Wasim and Saeed Anwar. He said these players have played modern-day cricket and also felt another former cricketer Younis Khan should coach at a lower level.