'Pick me, I'll be there for free' - Gerhard Erasmus reacts on Kamran Akmal's decision to withdraw from upcoming PSL

Pakistan cricketer Kamran Akmal recently refused to participate in the upcoming edition of PSL after being picked in the lowest category in players’ drafts by Peshawar Zalmi. It has to be noted that Akmal is the most capped player in the history of PSL and also stands to be the second-highest run-getter in the league’s history.

However, after refusing to play for Peshawar Zalmi in the upcoming edition, there is another player who has taken a dig on the matter. Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus has come up with his eagerness to play for Zalmi’s and stated that he can play for free. Meanwhile, Netherland’s cricketer Maxwell O’Dowd also expressed his keenness to play PSL.

Erasmus reacts to Akmal’s recent comments

Pick me, I’ll be there for free. 👆

— Gerhard Erasmus (@gerharderasmus) December 13, 2021

I am not going to play with such humiliation: Kamran Akmal

“If it has to end like this, so be it, but I am not going to play with such humiliation. This is an embarrassment. You don’t treat a player like this. With all the runs I have scored in the league, I deserve better. I agree that rejigging the categories wasn’t the franchises’ prerogative, it was Ramiz Raja [PCB chairman] who reworked the categories. But being picked in Silver was a further demotion,” said Akmal while speaking to ESPNcricinfo after being picked in the silver category.

The PCB made a little change in the player categories before the draft and Akmal was demoted from the Diamond category to the Gold category. However, the worse happened when he was picked by Zalmi in the lowest silver category. In the same line, Zalmi head coach Mohammad Akram spoke of meeting the player but stated that his decision would mostly not change.

“We have also announced a benefit year for him and a certain amount from our earning will go back into that. With age [Akmal is 39], things change and we have to be realistic. But on paper, he is still with the team and that is why we picked him,” said Zalmi head coach Mohammad Akram on the given matter.