Kamran Akmal who is currently featuring in the Dhaka Premier League tournament for Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club in Bangladesh, has called on the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to look at finalising and launching the Pakistan Premier League (PPL) competition.

Speaking from Bangladesh with PakPassion.net, the thirty year old Akmal stated that it would be a major boost for Pakistan cricket if the PCB could finalise the PPL along similar lines to the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and the Big Bash (BBL).

“We are seeing these Twenty20 competitions being launched around the world now, featuring some of the best players from all over the globe. The BPL is the latest such venture and I would urge the PCB to finalise and launch a similar competition. I know that our board is working very hard to finalise the PPL and I feel that it would be a major boost for Pakistan cricket if and when such a competition was launched. Under the previous Chairman Ijaz Butt there was talk of the PPL being finalised but now with the new Chairman Zaka Ashraf in place, hopefully we will see the PPL launched soon.”

Akmal who has not featured for Pakistan since the World Cup semi final last year in Mohali against India added that he was enjoying his stint currently playing in the Dhaka Premier League (DPL) and also spoke of how impressed he was with some of the Bangladeshi cricketers he has played with and against during this tournament.

“I’m enjoying my time out here in Bangladesh playing in the DPL. It’s the first time I’ve played in the DPL and it’s been a really good experience. I’ve played domestic cricket in Pakistan for the past 10 to 11 years and have never missed a season so this time around after playing in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Pakistan I was given this chance to play in Bangladesh domestic cricket. I thought I would grab the opportunity.”

“There is a real feel good factor at the moment in Bangladesh about their domestic cricket. The standard seems to be improving day by day and even in this tournament I have seen a marked difference in the quality of the cricket since the competition started. You are seeing players from all over the world taking part in this tournament and that gives the local players a good chance to watch and learn from the overseas players. Tournaments like the DPL are definitely improving the standard of cricket in Bangladesh and are important to the country’s future improvement on the International cricket scene.”

Akmal, who was recently snapped up by the Sylhet Royals in the BPL auction where he will play alongside the likes of Bradd Hogg and Sohail Tanvir, was very keen to state how much he was looking forward to taking part in the inaugural BPL.

“It should be a great spectacle for all the fans and the players. It’s great to see so many cricketers from around the world lined up to take part in the BPL alongside the local talent in Bangladesh. The BPL is a very good idea and all credit to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) for coming up with this idea. It is another opportunity for Bangladeshi cricketers to test themselves against some of the world’s best talent and to improve their own standards.”

“Tournaments such as the BPL aren’t just about the overseas players coming into a country and dominating and impressing everyone. It is also about the local players raising their game and improving their cricket. For example look at the IPL, the young Indian players have really improved their standards in the Twenty over format after being given the opportunity to play alongside and against the best players in the world. Likewise I feel that the BCB will be looking to raise the profile of Bangladesh cricket and also at the same time looking for their local boys to raise their game.”

Akmal was a member of the Rajasthan Royals squad that won the inaugural IPL. However Akmal and the other Pakistani cricketers have not been invited back to the IPL after the first season, but Akmal hopes that cricket between the two nations recommences and the Pakistani players are part of future IPL tournaments.

“Playing for Rajasthan was a wonderful experience. Having the opportunity to play under the leadership of Shane Warne was fantastic and it was a real eye opener. After that first tournament we Pakistani players have not been invited back to play in the IPL and I don’t really want to go into the whys and wherefores of that but I do feel that sportsmen shouldn’t suffer due to “outside” matters and Pakistani cricketers should be included in the IPL. India and Pakistan should regularly play against each other in cricket and that is something that the fans of both nations want to see. Indian fans want to see the Pakistani cricket team tour India and likewise Pakistani cricket fans want to see the Indian team tour Pakistan.”

“We went to India for the World Cup semi final in Mohali and received a great welcome. The response was overwhelming as it has been every time I have been to India with the Pakistan team. The public want to see India versus Pakistan matches and I think they should be a regular occurrence on the International cricketing calendar. Both sets of fans should not be deprived of seeing the opposition touring their country.”

Whilst Kamran is currently out of favour for Pakistan, it was one of his brothers Adnan Akmal who performed admirably in the recently concluded first Test match against England in the United Arab Emirates. Kamran praised Adnan’s performance but reiterated that Adnan was just one member of an excellent combined team effort in the UAE.

“Adnan gave a very good performance against England in Dubai. His wicket keeping was very good and his batting on the second day and the final day was exactly what the team needed. He’s been working very hard on his cricket and I hope that he continues to work hard and improve. However whilst Adnan did well, you have to appreciate that the win over England was not down to one or two individuals, it was a total team effort. Saeed Ajmal also deserves a lot of praise for his 10 wickets in the match and the opening partnership of Taufeeq Umar and Mohammad Hafeez was excellent and gave the Pakistani batting line up exactly the start that they had needed when responding to England’s first innings total. So all in all it was a very good team effort from a united and confident team, both on and off the field. To beat England in three days was a marvellous effort and I hope that this high level of performance continues throughout the series.”