Kamran Akmal slams Pakistan for wasting home advantage in Tests

LAHORE: Former Test cricketer Kamran Akmal has expressed concerns over Pakistan's recent performances in Test cricket, attributing the lack of success to a negative mindset and the misuse of home advantage.

In a conversation with Geo News, Akmal highlighted the significance of Bangladesh's victory in the recent series over Pakistan.

"We have been wasting our home advantage with a negative approach for the past two years, which is why we haven't been winning in Test cricket on our home grounds," he said.

"The Bangladesh team, by winning, has shown us where we stand in Test cricket. If we don't understand this now, then it's goodbye for us," he added.

He also criticised Pakistan's current approach in Test cricket: "The Pakistan team's approach is not about winning. It's more about doing something for themselves and drawing matches. We need to correct this and adopt a winning approach. If we don’t understand this even now, then only God can save our cricket."

He also stressed the importance of maintaining a positive mindset in modern-day cricket, adding, "In modern cricket, your approach holds great importance, and it should only be about winning."

Akmal expressed frustration over the team's excuses for not playing red-ball cricket consistently

"They apologise for not playing red-ball cricket for the past 7 or 8 months. But who told them to stop playing? Who told them to focus only on leagues around the world and not practice or play red-ball cricket?"

Akmal compared Pakistan's preparation with India's professional attitude, mentioning, "Even India hadn’t played red-ball cricket for a long time. But before their series against Bangladesh, they scheduled a Duleep Trophy match, and everyone was in action. That is what a professional approach looks like." He concluded by emphasising that "Success in cricket comes only through a professional attitude."