Mohammad Abbas Prefers County Cricket Over Pakistan Cricket

For over three years, Pakistani bowler Mohammad Abbas has been out of favour with the starting lineup for the national squad. The 34-year-old, who last competed for Pakistan in August 2021, first came to notice when he broke through on the scene and gained widespread notoriety for his steady batting lengths in the game's longest format. In a recent interview, Abbas discussed the England and Wales Cricket Board's promptness in scheduling its domestic schedule going forward, regardless of the format under consideration.

Mohammad Abbas in a candid chat:

As quoted by Cricket Pakistan, Mohammad Abbas said, "Here [in the English county], there is a great deal of professionalism. You will observe that contests, ranging from one-day tournaments to four-day matches, Twenty20s, and even 100-ball games, are played from April to September. However, it only takes them 1.5 months after the season ends on September 30 to provide the schedule for the upcoming season. I think they release their timetable by the middle or end of November. I have not changed the schedule once in my six years here. The timetable remained unchanged upon Queen Elizabeth's passing, and the matches went on."

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He also added, "Everything on the grounds is available, including salary, match fees, food, and clothing. Everything is done on time and with exceptional professionalism."

Abbas, who plays for Hampshire now, compared the absence of those facilities to the structure of Pakistani domestic cricket. In addition, he expressed support for reform by saying that the Pakistan Cricket Board had to establish a players' association.

"These actions are necessary to improve Pakistani domestic cricket. The PCB has to handle everything, thus there ought to be a players' association in Pakistan that can help the PCB. However, in the event that a players' organization is established, it will handle player issues rather than the PCB. They can get together and talk about the players' problems with the PCB," Abbas continued.

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