Pakistan great Wasim Akram has delivered a withering assessment of his country's batting production line, arguing that a decade of domestic cricket has failed to produce the talent needed to rescue the national Test side. Speaking to the media in Lahore on Friday, the former captain said Pakistan's home-and-away Test series defeat to Bangladesh should have triggered immediate corrective action — instead, he insisted, little changed after what should have been a warning sign.

Ten years of PSL, but where are the batters?

Akram's sharpest critique was aimed at the Pakistan Super League, the franchise competition that has now been running for a decade. He questioned whether the tournament had produced any significant batting talent for the national team.

"It has been 10 years since the PSL started, but has a single batter been produced by the PSL? Yes we have produced a few bowlers but tell me have we produced any noteworthy batting talent," he asked.

He pointed to the emergence of a teenage batting prodigy in neighbouring India — an apparent reference to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi — as the kind of player Pakistan's system should be generating.

"I think when we produce a batting talent like the 14-year-old then we will see improvement coming through," Akram said.

Test cricket in a 'bad' state

While Akram believes Pakistan remains competitive in white-ball cricket, he was far less optimistic about the longer format, describing the state of Test cricket as "bad". He also played down the significance of whoever takes charge as Pakistan's coach, arguing that whether the PCB appoints him or Gary Kirsten, the fundamental challenge would remain because the coach would still be working with the same pool of players.

Rather than repeatedly changing personnel, Akram called for Pakistan's domestic structure to be given time to produce results, suggesting the system should be allowed to operate for three to four years with patience and long-term planning essential to any improvement. He admitted he was just as disappointed as any other Pakistani by the team's recent performances.

"Club cricket needs to be revived if we want improvement in red ball cricket. The PCB should spend 100 million rupees each in Karachi and Lahore, as talent comes from club cricket."

He also demanded greater consistency in selection, noting that Pakistan have continued to rotate players without addressing the underlying problems — "they just keep coming and going."

Front foot missing in England

Pakistan's ongoing Test series in England also came under scrutiny, with Akram criticising the team's approach against the home side's bowlers.

"In England in the ongoing series they didn't move their front foot forward, playing bowlers like Ollie Robinson while standing rooted in the crease. You need to play with courage, but for that, talent is essential."

On Pakistan's fast-bowling resources, Akram cautioned against judging a bowler on raw pace alone, saying bowling one ball at 150 km/h was no big deal and that the real test was whether a quick bowler could maintain around 140 km/h throughout the day. He urged restraint over the excitement surrounding the country's emerging fast bowlers and said youngsters should first be given the opportunity to play.

Shaheen Afridi was another topic of discussion. Akram described the left-arm pacer as an experienced bowler, said he did not know why Shaheen's pace had dropped, and felt a bowler of his experience should have travelled to England. He also named Akif Javed as a player he would have preferred to see given a chance.

"If it were up to me, I would have asked for Akif Javed, as he bowled well recently in England."

Akram's comments land amid mounting concern over Pakistan's Test performances and the quality of players emerging through the domestic system, with the former pacer calling for a longer-term approach rather than repeated upheavals that never address the roots of the problem.