Former Pakistan pacer Yasir Arafat has claimed that the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has damaged the country’s cricket. In an interview with a local channel, he claimed that the T20 league has led to players unwilling to play Tests any longer. Arafat’s remarks come after Pakistan’s historic Test series loss to Bangladesh.
‘PSL damaged Pakistan cricket’
Yasir Arafat blamed the agents of the players for the latter prioritizing T20s over Tests. He claimed that they gave importance to short-term financial deals over long-term career development.
“Pakistan Super League (PSL) has damaged Pakistan cricket. Players are not willing to play Test cricket anymore,” Arafat stated.
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Further, Arafat slammed the workload management of the players and blamed the PCB for being unable to effectively do so. He cited the example of Shaheen Afridi, claiming that the dip in his form was because he was introduced too early to international cricket.
Lesson for PCB to learn from India
The former Pakistan pacer heaped praise on India, Australia and England for their approach towards player rehabilitation and workload management. He urged the PCB to adopt a similar approach to ensure a player’s long-term health and performance.
It is pertinent to point out that the PCB had denied NOCs for multple centrally contracted stars to participate in leagues around the world, including GT20, The Hundred and other leagues.