In-form Kamran fails to get Arthur’s favour

SHARJAH: Kamran Akmal hit a brilliant century in Peshawar Zalmi’s crucial victory against Lahore Qalandars in their last round robin match in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Friday night. The wicketkeeper-batsman has also scored loads of runs in domestic cricket recently but all that effort might not be enough for him to return to the national team.

Speaking at the post-match press conference after Karachi Kings beat Islamabad United to reach Sunday’s qualifier, Mickey Arthur, who is also Pakistan’s head coach, gave an indication that Kamran’s international cricket-playing days might be over. Asked if Kamran still could play international cricket, Arthur said: “You never say never. But to be brutally honest, we have a young team and we are moving forward. He played beautifully today, he was outstanding.

“But it comes back to where does he field? Sarfraz (Ahmed) is going to keep wicket. There are a lot of things to weigh up. And I think we have a Twenty20 side that is number one in the world, so there aren’t going to be too many changes for the West Indies series.” The three-match Twenty20 International series between Pakistan and West Indies will be played in Karachi with games on April 1, 2 and 3.

Karman entertained a large crowd at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium with an excellent display of power-hitting. He hammered seven sixes and 11 fours in his 61-ball 107 not out to help Peshawar Zalmi overhaul Islamabad United’s 172-4 for the loss of just three wickets with two overs to spare. This was also the first century in the third edition of the Pakistan Super League.

While Pakistan might need his batting skills in the shortest form of the game, Kamran’s biggest issue is where does he field. He obviously cannot keep wickets with Sarfraz Ahmed in the team. Sarfraz is not only the first choice wicketkeeper but is also the national captain in all formats of the game.

The right-handed Kamran last played for Pakistan in a One-day International against West Indies in Providence in April last year. His last Twenty20 International was also in the same series. Kamran has represented Pakistan in 157 ODIs, scoring 3236 runs at an average of 30.79 with five centuries. His 53 innings in 58 T20 Internationals have yielded 987 runs with five fifties and a strike rate of almost 119.