‘Teams like New Zealand and South Africa should be banned…’: Kamran Akmal backs India to win an ICC Trophy

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal advocated for India despite their poor run in International Cricket Council (ICC) events and opined that teams like New Zealand and South Africa should be banned since they have hardly won in ICC tournaments.

Notably, India won their last ICC championship way back in 2013 in the form of Champions Trophy under the leadership of legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni and haven’t won a single major trophy ever since.

However, the Men in Blue in the last year’s ICC T20 World Cup made it to the semis but were knocked out by the eventual tournament champions, England.

Talking about India’s impotence in winning the knockout games at the grand stage, Pakistan veteran Akmal appreciated the Indian team citing that championships shouldn’t be the criterion to judge a team.

“People talk about India having not won an ICC event for 10 years. You can’t win every ICC event. And if winning an ICC trophy is the only criterion then teams like New Zealand and South Africa should be banned since they haven’t won any. So this is just a pick. India is a great team and is playing at a different level,” said Akmal on Paktv.tv.

South Africa, to date, have only won a single ICC trophy which they bagged way back in 1998 when they clinched the inaugural edition of the Champions Trophy (then known as Knockout Trophy). Meanwhile, New Zealand have two titles, one ICC Knockout Trophy 2000 and another the maiden World Test Championship 2021, under Stephen Fleming and Kane Williamson’s leadership, respectively.

On the other hand, India has all the major ICC championships in their cabinet, including the 2007 T20 World Cup, the 2011 ODI World Cup and the 2013 Champions Trophy. India brought all these laurels under the captainship of the most decorated skipper of all time, Dhoni.

India also has a perfect chance to add one more title to the list and rewrite history as they will host the upcoming 50-over World Cup this year in October-November.