{"id":12279,"date":"2025-07-01T12:05:03","date_gmt":"2025-07-01T12:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=12279"},"modified":"2025-07-01T12:05:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T12:05:03","slug":"kamran-akmal-criticised-azhar-mehmoods-appointment-as-red-ball-head-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=12279","title":{"rendered":"Kamran Akmal criticised Azhar Mehmood&#8217;s appointment as red-ball head coach"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal has sharply criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for appointing Azhar Mahmood as interim head coach of the national Test team, calling the move illogical and reflective of poor management.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking on &#8216;The Game Plan&#8217; YouTube podcast,\u00a0Akmal said he was baffled by the rationale behind naming Mahmood to the post on a temporary basis.<\/p>\n<p>He likened the decision to the PCB\u2019s earlier controversial appointment of Mickey Arthur as director of cricket, despite his ongoing commitments with a county team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just don\u2019t understand the logic behind this decision,\u201d Akmal said. \u201cIt\u2019s exactly like the time they made Mickey Arthur director of cricket while letting him continue elsewhere. I couldn\u2019t understand it then, and I can\u2019t understand it now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Akmal argued that such short-term, inconsistent decisions have contributed to long-standing issues within Pakistan cricket. He cited a series of coaching changes\u2014including Aaqib Javed, Mohammad Hafeez, and now Azhar Mahmood\u2014as examples of the PCB\u2019s reactive approach.<\/p>\n<p>The former international urged the board to adopt a more professional and strategic mindset, warning that temporary fixes would only deepen structural problems.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese decisions reflect a lack of seriousness,\u201d he added. \u201cWhen the PCB starts thinking seriously and acting professionally, it won\u2019t have to make such compromises or temporary appointments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Akmal also suggested that Mahmood\u2019s appointment seemed more about rewarding personal loyalty than building a stable coaching framework.<\/p>\n<p>He criticised what he described as a \u2018please-all\u2019 strategy and questioned the utility of naming a head coach without long-term responsibility.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone has been appeased, and now Azhar has also been rewarded,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019ve made him head coach, then give him the full time and responsibility. Otherwise, what\u2019s the point?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The PCB has not yet commented on Akmal\u2019s remarks. Azhar Mahmood\u2019s appointment comes at a time when Pakistan\u2019s Test side is undergoing a transitional phase ahead of upcoming tours.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal has sharply criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for appointing Azhar Mahmood as interim head coach of the national Test team, calling the move illogical and reflective of poor management. Speaking on &#8216;The Game Plan&#8217; YouTube podcast,\u00a0Akmal said he was baffled by the rationale behind naming Mahmood to the post [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12279\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}