- Shoaib Akhtar says ICC has forgotten batsman like Babar Azam
- ICC had announced their Teams of the Decade in all three formats of the game.
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No cricketer from Pakistan was included in the list which upset several Pakistani cricketers
Former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar aka ‘Rawalpindi Express’ disapproved of the International Cricket Council (ICC) after its announcement of the Teams of the Decade, commenting that the cricket body has announced an Indian Premier League (IPL) team instead of a world cricket team.
In a video on his Youtube channel, the former fast bowler said: “I think ICC has forgotten that Pakistan is also ICC’s member and plays cricket internationally. They missed out on an ace Pakistani batsman like Babar Azam who is already a top T20 batsman. They did not even include a single Pakistani player.”
“These people left because cricket was materialised. Why did you give permission to start 10 leagues? You gave permission in order to rake money out of cricket,” he said.
Grilling ICC over its stringent rules and regulations, the legendary bowler said that fast bowlers should be allowed to express themselves in the field. “What is the fun in watching cricket if Sachin vs Shoaib is not happening in the field?” he asked.
He censured ICC for overlooking the world’s top cricketers like Australian fast bowlers Jeff Thompson, Danis Lillee, West Indies big five, and Pakistan’s Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram.
“These people left because cricket was materialised. Why did you give permission to start 10 leagues? You gave permission in order to rake money out of cricket,” he continued.
Akhtar concluded the video by saying that the purpose of the video was just to send ICC a reminder that they did not have to announce an IPL team while sidelining the world’s top cricket players.
A day ealier, ICC had announced their Teams of the Decade in all three formats of the game. Unfortunately, no cricketer from Pakistan was included in the list which upset several Pakistani cricketers.
The different playing XIs announced by the governing body are part of the ICC Awards, a programme aimed at celebrating outstanding cricketers and moments over the last ten years
