Be as consistent as Indian selectors: Butt, Akmal to Pak panel

Karachi: Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and discarded wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal have called on Pakistan selectors to show the same consistency as their Indian counterparts do while picking the national team.

Butt and Kamran feel that Indian selectors, compared to their Pakistani counterparts, show more consistency in giving chances to their players.

"India shows more consistency in allowing their players to play top-level cricket," Butt noted.

"Rohit Sharma's batting average was around 25 and 30 at one stage but the Indian selectors gave him consistent chances and today he has become a world class performer," Butt said.

Butt and Kamran also felt that one reason for Pakistani not producing the same quality batting as India was because of the inconsistent nature of pitches used in the first-class matches.

"You need to have pitches in domestic cricket where batsmen can build their innings and stay for long. This is only way to give them confidence and prepare them for international cricket," Kamran said.

He noted that in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the premier first-class event that just concluded, there were at least 20 instances where teams were bowled out for less than 100 runs because of the pitches at different venues.

Butt and Kamran also noted that domestic cricket performances should be sole criterion for picking national teams.

They pointed out that if players who regularly do well in domestic cricket are not given consistent chances to become good international players, then Pakistan's cricket growth will be affected.

The two players said in recent years there were many instances where players were picked and dropped without getting proper chances at the international level.