How hard is it to just bat Umar Akmal at one position?

[Blistering Barnacle]

This guy is treated like a slogger or a makeshift player who should just move around as per anyone's whim.

So strange. How about giving him a role and letting him make that role his own? Whether is 200/2 or 40/2. Just let him play a position and go with it. If he sucks, drop him for good.

 

[Chokli]

Number 6 or Opening.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

For too long, this guy has to be accommodated around other players and their preferences.

Just give him a role to try to score at around a run a ball at no. 4 and leave him there for a while. Don't screw around by moving him up and down the order because he can find the boundary while others can't.

So annoying in this Pak team that those who can find the boundary are giving the role of a slogger, so that others who can't find the boundary are given the opportunity to build and cement their averages purely because they can't!

How weird is that.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Number 6 or Opening.

wrong.

No. 6 is the worst place to play him imo.

 

[Mamoon]

I don’t believe that it is an issue of giving him a run at one position.

By now, it is very clear that Umar does not have the temperament and the skill to build an innings.

It is just not his game - he is not the type of batsman who can score 70 in 80 balls with 5 fours and no sixes, but he is capable of blitzing a 50 in 25 balls with 6 sixes.

He just doesn’t have the game to bat at 3, 4 and 5. There have been multiple instances in his career where he has had the chance to rebuild the innings, but he has squandered the opportunity nearly every time.

I have come to the conclusion that there are only two positions where he can provide utility - he can either play the Fakhar role, i.e. open the innings and go hard against the bowlers in the PP overs, or he can play the Asif role and come out swinging from ball one in the last 15 overs.

By forcing him to become what he cannot be, the selectors and the management are missing out on what he already is.

 

[Chokli]

wrong.

No. 6 is the worst place to play him imo.

He doesn't have the temperament to play anywhere else other than 6 or open.

He'll thrive in a position where it doesn't effect the team a whole lot and those are either opening or playing at 6.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

He doesn't have the temperament to play anywhere else other than 6 or open.

He'll thrive in a position where it doesn't effect the team a whole lot and those are either opening or playing at 6.

Actually I think it's the opposite. He should be given a pivotal position like no. 3 or 4. My preference is for no. 4.

You are putting him into the same category of a slogger - an opening slogger or a lower order slogger. That's why he has never achieved as much as when he has played higher up for domestic teams/leagues who play him higher.

 

[The Viper]

Umar Akmal doesn't have the fitness to play a long innings.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Umar Akmal doesn't have the fitness to play a long innings.

He does have the fitness to hit a big score, because of his s/r. There is no doubt about that. And as he spends more time with the national team, he will improve his fitness.

 

[Chokli]

Actually I think it's the opposite. He should be given a pivotal position like no. 3 or 4. My preference is for no. 4.

You are putting him into the same category of a slogger - an opening slogger or a lower order slogger. That's why he has never achieved as much as when he has played higher up for domestic teams/leagues who play him higher.

He batted at number 4 and 5 this series and threw away his wicket, slogging.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

By forcing him to become what he cannot be, the selectors and the management are missing out on what he already is.

If you look at his international career, the exact opposite has occurred...he has primarily been played as a lower order slogger. And when he has tried to fulfill that role and was only partially successful, he was dropped as a wasted talent.

We all know that he has performed the best in t20 leagues and domestic cricket at around 4.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

He batted at number 4 and 5 this series and threw away his wicket, slogging.

He batted at 4 once, got 48 off 50.

 

[Savak]

I don’t believe that it is an issue of giving him a run at one position.

By now, it is very clear that Umar does not have the temperament and the skill to build an innings.

It is just not his game - he is not the type of batsman who can score 70 in 80 balls with 5 fours and no sixes, but he is capable of blitzing a 50 in 25 balls with 6 sixes.

He just doesn’t have the game to bat at 3, 4 and 5. There have been multiple instances in his career where he has had the chance to rebuild the innings, but he has squandered the opportunity nearly every time.

I have come to the conclusion that there are only two positions where he can provide utility - he can either play the Fakhar role, i.e. open the innings and go hard against the bowlers in the PP overs, or he can play the Asif role and come out swinging from ball one in the last 15 overs.

By forcing him to become what he cannot be, the selectors and the management are missing out on what he already is.

The Indians successfully changed Rohit Sharma's career by making him open the innings, why are Pakistani's averse to such experiments?

 

[Chokli]

He batted at 4 once, got 48 off 50.

Yes then got out slogging.

Whatever number you put him at, he's going to be slogging.

He was dropped once after slogging and only managed to get 48 off 50.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Yes then got out slogging.

Whatever number you put him at, he's going to be slogging.

He was dropped once after slogging and only managed to get 48 off 50.

What matters is not what you define as slogging, but what he scores and how it contributes to the team.

I don't mind that he got out slogging in that particular game, because he was the only one who seemed to realize the run rate needed to be lifted. I'll take a guy slogging to try to win the game over someone defending or going for singles to protect his position or average. Akmal can never be accused of the latter.

 

[Mirpur express]

Best position for him is bench as a backup to either Fakhar or Asif 1or 6

 

[Hawkeye]

Fakhar
Umar Akmal

This can be a dream opening pair at the World Cup. IF even one of them clicks, we'll get to 300+.

Unfortunately, Sarfraz and Mickey Arthur don't have a brain, can't think outside the box.

 

[Chokli]

What matters is not what you define as slogging, but what he scores and how it contributes to the team.

I don't mind that he got out slogging in that particular game, because he was the only one who seemed to realize the run rate needed to be lifted. I'll take a guy slogging to try to win the game over someone defending or going for singles to protect his position or average. Akmal can never be accused of the latter.

He scores by slogging and takes chances by slogging.

a middle order spot isn't for somebody unreliable as he, he needs multiple chances to score runs and doesn't even take full advantage of those chances.

Run rate effected or not, no matter what the match situation is he'll always get out slogging because that's what has reduced himself to.

Which is why the number 6 or opening is the best slot for him where his actions while batting don't effect the team too much.

If Umar Akmal was trying to win the game, he would have.

He's not trying to win anything, he's just trying to hit sixes.

If he wanted to win, he'd know he shouldn't take risks and instead focus on ground shots and finding the gaps, but he's obviously not smart enough to know that or just doesn't have the ability.

 

[Kroll]

Fakhar
Umar Akmal

This can be a dream opening pair at the World Cup. IF even one of them clicks, we'll get to 300+.

Unfortunately, Sarfraz and Mickey Arthur don't have a brain, can't think outside the box.

Some of us been saying this for a long time, unfortunately he'll probably get discarded again before getting the opportunity. He'll be better than Shehzad and Shan. He'll score quicker than Imam and can't be worse than Fakhar in his present form.

 

[Chokli]

Opening can revive Umar Akmal's career.


He's a much better bat than his brother and Kamran didn't do too bad while opening when he used to.

 

[unemployedgm]

This guy is treated like a slogger or a makeshift player who should just move around as per anyone's whim.

So strange. How about giving him a role and letting him make that role his own? Whether is 200/2 or 40/2. Just let him play a position and go with it. If he sucks, drop him for good.

Agreed.

 

[unemployedgm]

Actually I think it's the opposite. He should be given a pivotal position like no. 3 or 4. My preference is for no. 4.

You are putting him into the same category of a slogger - an opening slogger or a lower order slogger. That's why he has never achieved as much as when he has played higher up for domestic teams/leagues who play him higher.

Doing so for a period of time is the only way to develop a player. As you rightly said, Umar has never been given that opportunity.

 

[Mamoon]

The Indians successfully changed Rohit Sharma's career by making him open the innings, why are Pakistani's averse to such experiments?

It is our mentality. We have an obsession with specialist openers even though majority of the best ODI openers in history have been makeshift. Throughout the 2000s, we struggled to find a decent opening pair, but never flirted with the idea of experimenting with someone like MoYo who had all the ingredients to be one of the best openers in the game.

Players like Rohit, Sehwag, Dilshan, Watson, Bairstow and perhaps even Tendulkar would have never opened for us. Our only significant experiment was Afridi.

 

[PakPremi]

I have been watching cricket for long time but have never been able to understand why Pakistani players such as Afridi, Umar Akmal, and even Malik try to hit a 6 ,when well set, and often get caught out at the boundary when a 4 with ground shot would do. I'm not talking about last few overs of a hard run chase. It's only 2 more runs but you risk your wicket. Can someone please ask one of these players.

 

[Chokli]

I have been watching cricket for long time but have never been able to understand why Pakistani players such as Afridi, Umar Akmal, and even Malik try to hit a 6 ,when well set, and often get caught out at the boundary, when a 4 with ground shot would do. I'm not talking about last few overs of a hard run chase. It's only 2 more runs but you risk your wicket. Can someone please ask one of these players.

Adulation

 

[PakPremi]

Adulation

Surely not when you have already lost 4 or 5 wickets for not much and batting well without need for hitting a 6. Getting team near the target would get you more praise than adulation for one or two 6s.

 

[Chokli]

Surely not when you have already lost 4 or 5 wickets for not much and batting well without need for hitting a 6. Getting team near the target would get you more praise than adulation for one or two 6s.

Brain cells, another thing our batsmen lack in.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

He scores by slogging and takes chances by slogging.

a middle order spot isn't for somebody unreliable as he, he needs multiple chances to score runs and doesn't even take full advantage of those chances.

Run rate effected or not, no matter what the match situation is he'll always get out slogging because that's what has reduced himself to.

Which is why the number 6 or opening is the best slot for him where his actions while batting don't effect the team too much.

If Umar Akmal was trying to win the game, he would have.

He's not trying to win anything, he's just trying to hit sixes.

If he wanted to win, he'd know he shouldn't take risks and instead focus on ground shots and finding the gaps, but he's obviously not smart enough to know that or just doesn't have the ability.

He scores runs quickly, which is what this team needs. If he gets out going for it, we should be more forgiving than for those who take their time getting a 50 or a 100 in a losing cause.

Furthermore. how often has he been played at no. 4, for instance, vs no. 6 as a slogger, where it is literally his role to slog.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

I have been watching cricket for long time but have never been able to understand why Pakistani players such as Afridi, Umar Akmal, and even Malik try to hit a 6 ,when well set, and often get caught out at the boundary when a 4 with ground shot would do. I'm not talking about last few overs of a hard run chase. It's only 2 more runs but you risk your wicket. Can someone please ask one of these players.

Couldn't agree more.

Guys like Akmal do so well when they play along the ground.

 

[msb314]

It is our mentality. We have an obsession with specialist openers even though majority of the best ODI openers in history have been makeshift. Throughout the 2000s, we struggled to find a decent opening pair, but never flirted with the idea of experimenting with someone like MoYo who had all the ingredients to be one of the best openers in the game.

Players like Rohit, Sehwag, Dilshan, Watson, Bairstow and perhaps even Tendulkar would have never opened for us. Our only significant experiment was Afridi.

I wouldn’t say that.

Kamran Akmal was tried as an opener despite being a natural lower order hitter and he had a decent amount of success - this idea was also realized by Peshawar Zalmi later on...

If I recall correctly - Shoaib Malik was also briefly tried as an opener in tests back in 2006 before Woolmer realized he was best suited at no. 3 in LOI and no. 6 in Tests.

Mo Hafeez was also a middle order player early on his career but was also converted into a make shift opener around 2006/07. Same goes for Azhar Ali who became a makeshift opener in LOI in 2015 when he became captain.

Most famous of all - Yk was tried as an opener during the first game of the 2015 WC against India but of course that was an absolute disaster.

Whilst it not always the fault of the aforementioned players given how our natural openers like Butt and Nasir were indulging in other nefarious activities whilst the likes of Taufiq and Shehzad had fallen out with management but it is fair to say that our make shift openers did not make the most of their opportunities....

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

All I'm saying is, play the guy at no. 4 whether it's 15/2 or 150/2. Let's see what he does. After all, according to the captain, this series doesn't matter, right?

 

[Abdullah]

All I'm saying is, play the guy at no. 4 whether it's 15/2 or 150/2. Let's see what he does. After all, according to the captain, this series doesn't matter, right?

We have better, fitter more consistent players for the number r spot.
We have too many options that prefer top 4, we need a 5 and a 6 who can score briskly from the get gk

 

[Cric1234]

We have better, fitter more consistent players for the number r spot.
We have too many options that prefer top 4, we need a 5 and a 6 who can score briskly from the get gk

I can only think of Fakhar the rest are accumulator type batsmen who play more for personal milestones than team wins.
Playing Akmal and Fakhar as openers is the way to go they can win matches with quick starts.

 

[Arsalan Pro]

As hard as to drop Yasir Shah from the playing XI.

 

[Seamer]

Post world cup I would try him as opener this could be a good batting order:

1. Fakhar Zaman
2. Umar Akmal
3. Babar Azam
4. Haris Sohail
5. Hussain Talat
6. Asif Ali

 

[gazza619]

I don’t believe that it is an issue of giving him a run at one position.

By now, it is very clear that Umar does not have the temperament and the skill to build an innings.

It is just not his game - he is not the type of batsman who can score 70 in 80 balls with 5 fours and no sixes, but he is capable of blitzing a 50 in 25 balls with 6 sixes.

He just doesn’t have the game to bat at 3, 4 and 5. There have been multiple instances in his career where he has had the chance to rebuild the innings, but he has squandered the opportunity nearly every time.

I have come to the conclusion that there are only two positions where he can provide utility - he can either play the Fakhar role, i.e. open the innings and go hard against the bowlers in the PP overs, or he can play the Asif role and come out swinging from ball one in the last 15 overs.

By forcing him to become what he cannot be, the selectors and the management are missing out on what he already is.

I actually feel he can score a run a ball 60/70.

The problem is his choice of stroke. He is a bit like Kamran Akmal. When both the brothers are on attack mode they dont care where the fielders are, and most often than not they get caught out.

For me only Umar Akmal can talk to Umar Akmal, and if he is reading this post I have a message for him,

“You are the man. Dont charge down the wicket. Focus on cut, pull and flicks when attacking and keep reminding yourself where the fielders are’

 

[coy0607]

Good batsmen can show their mettle at any position.

U Akmal is not a good batsmen. The fact that his position is used as an excuse for his poor performance is an example of this

 

[ads101]

Because he's never excelled in a position, which is why no one knows his best position. Generally when he's been promoted up the order he's been worse. No.6 is by far his best record, yet a lot of it was soft runs, not getting it when it mattered, or only been able to play a support role. Never finished games, and when the pressure was on, often threw his wicket. Perhaps should have left him there, but I think people wanted him to kick on given how many ODIs were invested and turn into that player we could rely on.

Umar's in general been on a downwards trend since his first year in international cricket, and simply does not look the class of player he was then, now. Then his fitness degrading hasn't helped.

I often think perhaps if we just left him alone and accepted him at 6 with his flaws, maybe over time he would have learnt to finish and bat better under pressure. But I think the media constantly criticised him for it, and overhyped him, and umar didn't handle the media pressure well.

 

[GreenKhan]

I have never seen so many excuses for a players underachievement than Umar Akmal.

In all the 3 innings he has played in this series he has batted with 25-30
Overs left . He was dropped once in the first innings and dropped today as well. His dismissal in the second innings was inexcusable.

Why exactly does the batting position matter when you have plenty of time to build your innings . He is a professional and has to adapt depending on the game situation.

I don’t get why Umar akmals failures are never his fault.

 

[Pete Rose]

I think we should give him the entire series, but to be honest he doesn’t even look fit to me any more. Don’t think he has the energy for any role

 

[Cric1234]

He needs to eliminate the big shot for six when the fielders are on the boundary before he scores 50 he has one it seems every match otherwise he's fine and will average 40+ if he does.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

The way he bats his only chance in the team is at opening position.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

I don’t believe that it is an issue of giving him a run at one position.

By now, it is very clear that Umar does not have the temperament and the skill to build an innings.

It is just not his game - he is not the type of batsman who can score 70 in 80 balls with 5 fours and no sixes, but he is capable of blitzing a 50 in 25 balls with 6 sixes.

He just doesn’t have the game to bat at 3, 4 and 5. There have been multiple instances in his career where he has had the chance to rebuild the innings, but he has squandered the opportunity nearly every time.

I have come to the conclusion that there are only two positions where he can provide utility - he can either play the Fakhar role, i.e. open the innings and go hard against the bowlers in the PP overs, or he can play the Asif role and come out swinging from ball one in the last 15 overs.

By forcing him to become what he cannot be, the selectors and the management are missing out on what he already is.

Does he deserve another chance?

 

[MHN1293]

Does he deserve another chance?

Not after that srilanka t20 humiliation at home. Others like haider ali can do no worse than him and are good young prospects.

 

[Zaz]

Does he deserve another chance?

On what basis

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Does he deserve another chance?

if he is the top run scorer in domestics across all formats for two seasons, then yes...

 

[dravidthewall]

Does he deserve another chance?

They can try umar Akmal on 6th position as slogger....

 

[UzmanBeast]

The case with Umar Akmal is so, so confusing.

First, there's the obvious temperament/attitude problems, which I won't even get into. Secondly, there is a player who clearly has talent but doesn't have the mental capacity to play according to situations.

I hear the guy is now allowed to play domestic cricket again, though I doubt he'll get picked up by any team in the PSL, unless of course overseas players don't come or a player sustains an injury.

The guy is a liability in the field, and his record of ducks speaks for itself.

The biggest question is if this guy should be given another chance, and it's quite a confusing question to ask.

A lot of people are suggesting that he opens, but in what format exactly? He's not good enough to open in tests, ODI is also uncertain, so that basically leaves T20s, where he's perhaps the most inconsistent.

In truth, Umar Akmal himself doesn't know what type of a player he is. Sometimes he can play a mature innings, other times he throws away his wicket for no meaning. That's what makes it so confusing, he hardly appears as if he has a defined role in the team.

My opinion on this is quite straightforward, if he performs in domestic (not just one season, it has to be at least two seasons), consider him like you considered the likes of Sharjeel, Nawaz, Amir, etc.

Who knows, the time away from cricket might have brought some maturity into him.

Suppose he performs and makes a comeback, he's going to have to bat in the lower middle order. There is no other spot available for him.

He'd be extremely lucky if a PSL franchise is willing to take him as a replacement player.

 

[TeymurBlake]

We can't debate all the reasons and positions that Umar Akmal should have been coming in. The fact of the matter is, he never played or applied himself enough to the talent he possessed. He should have been a stalwart in the Pakistan middle order for years.

 

[Savak]

Umar Akmal is a classic example of the fact that your lack of maturity and growing up as an individual person adult will ultimately reflect on your performances in the field. That is just what happened to him. Even his elder brother Kamran Akmal has acknowledged that he is the most difficult person in the family to deal with

 

[Hasan123]

If he came back in T20 cricket I would have not a problem. He usually did well in T20s, he is certainly better than the likes of Asif Ali and Khusdil. I get the feeling his international career is over.

 

[WengerOut]

Has he ever opened for Pakistan? He could have been a rich man's Jason Roy for Pakistan. No complex instructions to him, just simple one like crash, bang, wallop. Such a talented hitter.

 

[Barragan]

Pretty confident he would have been very successful, if he was given a chance at no. 3 or 4 in LOI and batting at 6 in Tests.

If he can break into the top 10 ODI rankings batting at 6, then he definitely would have done well at his preferred positions of 3 or 4.

Should have also been given a chance in Tests in Asia.

 

[Cric1234]

He’s actually been one of the best test and ODI batsmen in the last 3-4 years in Pakistan capable of averaging close to 50 at no 5 in tests and no 4 in ODIs but he’s up against Misbah who is no fan of Akmal.

 

[Jazx]

Umer's batting style and temperament is best suited for opening slot. But unfortunately in Pakistan such kind of batsmans are normallly considered as a slogger. And if you giving him that role than obviously he will slog. He is not a sort of a batsman who can finish you the games. Whereas he is a batsman like sehwag who can play aggressivly in a no pressure situation. He is not a powerhitter, he is a pure timer of the ball who can play crispy strokes at the top and that sort of batting is best suited for opening slot atleast in limited overs. Imagine sehwag's career at number 6, his career would have been over within 2 years if he was not promoted at top order. Umar's temperament is such that even if you play him at 3,4,5,6 Or 7 he will fail under pressure situations. It's only the opening slot where his batting could excel and he can play freely. And as far as test matches are concerned he didn't do anything wrong there, it's Pakistan's team management's fault that they discarded him so soon in that format. He could have been successful at any position in that format. There are some players who needs to be handled very carefully and that sort of intelligence is always missed in Pakistan wheather it's in Umar's case or other player before that.