Arham_PakFan
ODI Debutant
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"I don't think any other player will have had as many match fixers caught as I have" : Umar Akmal
Quotes by Umar Akmal from a Television Interview:
‘In the World Cup,I was offered to leave 2 balls and was offered $200,000 to do so.’
‘I was given this offer in the India match in the 2015 World Cup’
‘Every match I played against India,I was offered money to skip the match and make excuses to get dropped from the team’
‘I refused these offers and told them I was sincere with Pakistan.I asked them not to make these offers again’
FULL INTERVIEW QUOTES:
"Media should decide about such things, I don't know why they make up things such as me being a 'bad boy', I don't think I have done anything wrong"
"Alhamdulillah Allah has blessed me that I am a good boy"
"I don't show off what good things I do, they are between me and Allah"
"Dressing room has an atmosphere and everyone is like brothers. You only become a team man when you participate and laugh and joke, you learn and share your own experiences"
"I am fond of music like I am fond of cricket. I was also fond of kite-flying but that got banned in Punjab and also snooker which I still play sometimes"
"I do listen to music, sometimes on tours we have curfews so you can't sit for too long in the room, how long can you sleep for"
"There was a family function where we were dancing etc in a good mood, there should have been no suggestion of a scandal, the lady was married but the dancing video was released, I was disappointed and disheartened by that considering that it was a private family function"
"Saeed bhai was the #1 bowler and remains #1 to this day in my eyes, he did a lot for Pakistan. When he was hit around in the 2010 World Cup, he was himself hurt that Pakistan lost due to him but the senior players gave him confidence. I was hoping that Hussey would get out soon but that didn't happen, instead we were knocked out"
"In 2011 World Cup, there was a big caught behind review after which Ponting was adjudged to have been dismissed, their wicketkeeper who was at the crease (Haddin) kept on abusing and said that you people always do wrong appeals, so I asked him who are you, the umpire said not out and we took a review as it's available. I told him "Were you asking for any time for an abusing, you are not a umpire so you can just stay your limits" so he did more abusing. After that when Ponting was given out, everyone kindly told him to go off the field"
"When it was our turn to bat, we needed 174 or something so we lost some early wickets. When I went in to bat, all 11 of their players started at me so I asked Allah to give me strength and he gave respect to me and to Pakistan"
"In the World T20 when I made 94, I could have made a hundred easily if I was selfish. But thanks to Allah, I have played enough cricket to get an idea of what number of runs are enough on which wicket and 200+ was not even safe against Australia. So I tried to make as many runs as possible instead of focusing on my 100. I tried to get Pakistan to the best possible total"
"It was in the news that Umar Akmal was unfit before the game, I credit the management for being by my side. Everyone was telling me not to play the match as the tournament was ahead of us but the physio helped a lot and gave treatment to help me to play the match"
"In the 2011 World Cup, I was playing Harbhajan for the first time. I hadn't faced his arm ball before, though the analysts show you these things. But you need to actually play it to be used to it, first ball after drinks break he came on and bowled an arm ball and I couldn't deal with it and got dismissed"
"MS Dhoni is a senior player, he is a good friend and we joke around. Raina was doing some abusing so I told him Mahi bhai, let him do what he wants but don't abuse. If I reply, it's a Pakistan-India match and the issue will be hyped so we should avoid it. Taunts are normal but one can't tolerate abuses. You can say that I was in good form at the time so they (India) were scared that if Umar stayed at the crease, it can be a good match and Pakistan can even win. Raina said something like 'there's one problem left, let's get him and send him home'. I ignored that as he's a good friend, we looked at each other then laughed a bit. But then he gave a slight abuse, so I told him, Raina bhai, what's the issue, don't give abuse. So he said 'be quiet and play, go complain to whoever you want'. In between overs I told Mahi bhai to tell him to calm down"
"There was just one incident which finished on a lighter note. Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan. Shoaib bhai bowled a bouncer and by the time Harbhajan lifted his bat, the ball was past him and in Kami bhais hands. So we were encouraging Shoaib bhai. As you know he is a good bowler and human being. He came up to Harbhajan and taunted him a bit and did some abusing, next ball somehow Harbhajan hit a six. Harbhajan said 'Shoaib Akhtar is finished' so Shoaib said 'I'll show you on the next ball, try to save yourself'. After that, Shoaib bhai was bowling so fast that Harbhajan was just trying to save himself regardless of the wicket. Shoaib bhai was trying to hit him instead of the wicket so at the end of the over, Harbhajan said 'I was just joking, why don't you hit the wicket instead of aiming for me'"
"In all the matches I've played against India, obviously when the bowling side you're facing is good, then the batsmen will be a bit shaky. I didn't see their legs shaking but they do try to play steady against the main bowlers"
"If the cricket board of that time said that I was faking an injury, then I don't think they were very professional. My report was there, the doctor has the reports. You can find the 2009 reports. I was unfit, I was not even fit while playing the matches, I played with an injection. Pakistan is first, my brother comes second"
"When I was keeping, I had done it for Pakistan for 3.5 years. As you know, keepers get hit a lot and by fingers are very uneven. I got back injuries also. I was not a regular WK but Moin bhai worked with me a lot. Once the doctor told me that if I dive around and stay as WK, that could mean the end of the tour for me. But my aim was to play for Pakistan and I can do anything for the country. Like the army and other security departments, they have done so much for the country so why can't I do something for Pakistan in cricket?"
"As a coach, if you ask Waqar bhai what is lacking in me, what problem is there - He doesn't answer. So what is the point of coaching? What attitude? He was telling me to keep in Tests, but I want to play for Pakistan, I don't want to spoil Pakistan's name. We were playing against South Africa. Our next tour was in UAE and we played 3 spinners under Misbah bhai. I didn't take anyone else's name, I said I can't keep in Tests. This is the reality. In Australia, England etc. where the weather is good, I could have done it. After that me told me 'I'll say how anyone lets you play cricket again' while we were talking in the dressing room. He said 'If I remain coach or not, I won't leave you alone even on commentary'. I told him Vicky bhai, you're elder and you can do whatever you want but please don't demotivate me"
"I had uploaded on Twitter and in press conference also that Mickey Arthur abused me. I don't know why he did that, there were other senior players there too. We have so many legends like Moin Khan, Rashid bhai, Razzaq bhai, Shahid bhai, Younis bhai, Abdul Qadir my father in law, Sarfraz Nawaz, Shoaib bhai, Mohsin bhai. Yet I even heard on media how some years ago, he (Arthur) used to say bad about Pakistan and our team, and now he is our Head Coach. He can't take me out of Pakistan. He can take me out of the team, no problem. Allah will help me and I believe in him. I have duas from my fans, family etc. I request everyone to pray and support me and I will surely make a comeback"
"I hate fixing deeply. Wherever I go, I am sincere with my country and sincere for my team. Until now, I don't think any other player will have had as many match fixers caught as I have for PCB. You go on tours so obviously you get phones and people get after you so I tell my management. The number of fixers is more than 10"
"I was playing second edition in Hong Kong sixes. There were many offers because in the first year I was player of the tournament. In Hong Kong's history, I am the only Pakistani batsmen who played in 2 years and won best player both years. In the second year, our manager had a death in his family so he had to go back. Kami bhai was the captain and he also became the manager. The Liaison officer came to me at 3-4 am after I had put 'dont disturb' sign, I got angry and asked who is it so he said I just need 5 mins of your time. I began to suspect something and called him in. He said give me a bank account anywhere in the world. We will give diamonds, gold, as much money anywhere. Just don't play well in the tournament. I got a bit hyper and told me have you finished? Now go. Then I went to Kami bhais room and told him this happened, now I can't play this tournament. If he can get to me, this thing must have gone into the market now that I am not performing due to being forced etc. Kami bhai said nothing will happen but I said I can't play so he called PCB and told them what happened. The chairman and chief selectors talked and said we have trust on you. Kami bhai gave me a very positive message and told me that if I quit, there will be a rumour that if you mentally torture Umar Akmal, he will go down. If you do well instead and perform, it will be a shut up call that if you try and force Umar, he is very sincere with his country. So I got up and prayed 2 nafls and made dua before the first match. Thanks to Allah I was best player of the tournament once again"
"I have had many people caught. I get many offers, I get phone calls so I report to the security officers and give them the number and tell them to handle it. They ask me to tell them what I will do at any certain point"
"We were having a series against South Africa in UAE. Then after that in the World Cup. There was an offer like play 2 dot balls, play a ball in this way, leave 2 balls alone and we'll give you 150-200k dollars. I told them to stop the bakwas"
"Whenever I play a match against India, there is an offer. I was asked to make some excuse and to not play the match before the 2015 World Cup game. I told them I am very sincere with Pakistan and don't talk to me about this topic and asked them where they got the number from. The offers were all on the phone and PCB has all the records. If anyone even said it as a joke, I have reported it to PCB"
"Pakistan is my first priority and I can do anything for the country. I will never do anything bad for the country. If Pakistan is ever damaged because of me, I think I will quit cricket"
"There are life threats as well, I don't care about them. They claim to have information about where I go and what I am doing. I told them to do what they want. It's because of Pakistan that I have anything today. If any fixer takes my life, it's no big deal. Our army and security department makes such sacrifices all the time"
Quotes by Umar Akmal from a Television Interview:
‘In the World Cup,I was offered to leave 2 balls and was offered $200,000 to do so.’
‘I was given this offer in the India match in the 2015 World Cup’
‘Every match I played against India,I was offered money to skip the match and make excuses to get dropped from the team’
‘I refused these offers and told them I was sincere with Pakistan.I asked them not to make these offers again’
FULL INTERVIEW QUOTES:
"Media should decide about such things, I don't know why they make up things such as me being a 'bad boy', I don't think I have done anything wrong"
"Alhamdulillah Allah has blessed me that I am a good boy"
"I don't show off what good things I do, they are between me and Allah"
"Dressing room has an atmosphere and everyone is like brothers. You only become a team man when you participate and laugh and joke, you learn and share your own experiences"
"I am fond of music like I am fond of cricket. I was also fond of kite-flying but that got banned in Punjab and also snooker which I still play sometimes"
"I do listen to music, sometimes on tours we have curfews so you can't sit for too long in the room, how long can you sleep for"
"There was a family function where we were dancing etc in a good mood, there should have been no suggestion of a scandal, the lady was married but the dancing video was released, I was disappointed and disheartened by that considering that it was a private family function"
"Saeed bhai was the #1 bowler and remains #1 to this day in my eyes, he did a lot for Pakistan. When he was hit around in the 2010 World Cup, he was himself hurt that Pakistan lost due to him but the senior players gave him confidence. I was hoping that Hussey would get out soon but that didn't happen, instead we were knocked out"
"In 2011 World Cup, there was a big caught behind review after which Ponting was adjudged to have been dismissed, their wicketkeeper who was at the crease (Haddin) kept on abusing and said that you people always do wrong appeals, so I asked him who are you, the umpire said not out and we took a review as it's available. I told him "Were you asking for any time for an abusing, you are not a umpire so you can just stay your limits" so he did more abusing. After that when Ponting was given out, everyone kindly told him to go off the field"
"When it was our turn to bat, we needed 174 or something so we lost some early wickets. When I went in to bat, all 11 of their players started at me so I asked Allah to give me strength and he gave respect to me and to Pakistan"
"In the World T20 when I made 94, I could have made a hundred easily if I was selfish. But thanks to Allah, I have played enough cricket to get an idea of what number of runs are enough on which wicket and 200+ was not even safe against Australia. So I tried to make as many runs as possible instead of focusing on my 100. I tried to get Pakistan to the best possible total"
"It was in the news that Umar Akmal was unfit before the game, I credit the management for being by my side. Everyone was telling me not to play the match as the tournament was ahead of us but the physio helped a lot and gave treatment to help me to play the match"
"In the 2011 World Cup, I was playing Harbhajan for the first time. I hadn't faced his arm ball before, though the analysts show you these things. But you need to actually play it to be used to it, first ball after drinks break he came on and bowled an arm ball and I couldn't deal with it and got dismissed"
"MS Dhoni is a senior player, he is a good friend and we joke around. Raina was doing some abusing so I told him Mahi bhai, let him do what he wants but don't abuse. If I reply, it's a Pakistan-India match and the issue will be hyped so we should avoid it. Taunts are normal but one can't tolerate abuses. You can say that I was in good form at the time so they (India) were scared that if Umar stayed at the crease, it can be a good match and Pakistan can even win. Raina said something like 'there's one problem left, let's get him and send him home'. I ignored that as he's a good friend, we looked at each other then laughed a bit. But then he gave a slight abuse, so I told him, Raina bhai, what's the issue, don't give abuse. So he said 'be quiet and play, go complain to whoever you want'. In between overs I told Mahi bhai to tell him to calm down"
"There was just one incident which finished on a lighter note. Shoaib Akhtar and Harbhajan. Shoaib bhai bowled a bouncer and by the time Harbhajan lifted his bat, the ball was past him and in Kami bhais hands. So we were encouraging Shoaib bhai. As you know he is a good bowler and human being. He came up to Harbhajan and taunted him a bit and did some abusing, next ball somehow Harbhajan hit a six. Harbhajan said 'Shoaib Akhtar is finished' so Shoaib said 'I'll show you on the next ball, try to save yourself'. After that, Shoaib bhai was bowling so fast that Harbhajan was just trying to save himself regardless of the wicket. Shoaib bhai was trying to hit him instead of the wicket so at the end of the over, Harbhajan said 'I was just joking, why don't you hit the wicket instead of aiming for me'"
"In all the matches I've played against India, obviously when the bowling side you're facing is good, then the batsmen will be a bit shaky. I didn't see their legs shaking but they do try to play steady against the main bowlers"
"If the cricket board of that time said that I was faking an injury, then I don't think they were very professional. My report was there, the doctor has the reports. You can find the 2009 reports. I was unfit, I was not even fit while playing the matches, I played with an injection. Pakistan is first, my brother comes second"
"When I was keeping, I had done it for Pakistan for 3.5 years. As you know, keepers get hit a lot and by fingers are very uneven. I got back injuries also. I was not a regular WK but Moin bhai worked with me a lot. Once the doctor told me that if I dive around and stay as WK, that could mean the end of the tour for me. But my aim was to play for Pakistan and I can do anything for the country. Like the army and other security departments, they have done so much for the country so why can't I do something for Pakistan in cricket?"
"As a coach, if you ask Waqar bhai what is lacking in me, what problem is there - He doesn't answer. So what is the point of coaching? What attitude? He was telling me to keep in Tests, but I want to play for Pakistan, I don't want to spoil Pakistan's name. We were playing against South Africa. Our next tour was in UAE and we played 3 spinners under Misbah bhai. I didn't take anyone else's name, I said I can't keep in Tests. This is the reality. In Australia, England etc. where the weather is good, I could have done it. After that me told me 'I'll say how anyone lets you play cricket again' while we were talking in the dressing room. He said 'If I remain coach or not, I won't leave you alone even on commentary'. I told him Vicky bhai, you're elder and you can do whatever you want but please don't demotivate me"
"I had uploaded on Twitter and in press conference also that Mickey Arthur abused me. I don't know why he did that, there were other senior players there too. We have so many legends like Moin Khan, Rashid bhai, Razzaq bhai, Shahid bhai, Younis bhai, Abdul Qadir my father in law, Sarfraz Nawaz, Shoaib bhai, Mohsin bhai. Yet I even heard on media how some years ago, he (Arthur) used to say bad about Pakistan and our team, and now he is our Head Coach. He can't take me out of Pakistan. He can take me out of the team, no problem. Allah will help me and I believe in him. I have duas from my fans, family etc. I request everyone to pray and support me and I will surely make a comeback"
"I hate fixing deeply. Wherever I go, I am sincere with my country and sincere for my team. Until now, I don't think any other player will have had as many match fixers caught as I have for PCB. You go on tours so obviously you get phones and people get after you so I tell my management. The number of fixers is more than 10"
"I was playing second edition in Hong Kong sixes. There were many offers because in the first year I was player of the tournament. In Hong Kong's history, I am the only Pakistani batsmen who played in 2 years and won best player both years. In the second year, our manager had a death in his family so he had to go back. Kami bhai was the captain and he also became the manager. The Liaison officer came to me at 3-4 am after I had put 'dont disturb' sign, I got angry and asked who is it so he said I just need 5 mins of your time. I began to suspect something and called him in. He said give me a bank account anywhere in the world. We will give diamonds, gold, as much money anywhere. Just don't play well in the tournament. I got a bit hyper and told me have you finished? Now go. Then I went to Kami bhais room and told him this happened, now I can't play this tournament. If he can get to me, this thing must have gone into the market now that I am not performing due to being forced etc. Kami bhai said nothing will happen but I said I can't play so he called PCB and told them what happened. The chairman and chief selectors talked and said we have trust on you. Kami bhai gave me a very positive message and told me that if I quit, there will be a rumour that if you mentally torture Umar Akmal, he will go down. If you do well instead and perform, it will be a shut up call that if you try and force Umar, he is very sincere with his country. So I got up and prayed 2 nafls and made dua before the first match. Thanks to Allah I was best player of the tournament once again"
"I have had many people caught. I get many offers, I get phone calls so I report to the security officers and give them the number and tell them to handle it. They ask me to tell them what I will do at any certain point"
"We were having a series against South Africa in UAE. Then after that in the World Cup. There was an offer like play 2 dot balls, play a ball in this way, leave 2 balls alone and we'll give you 150-200k dollars. I told them to stop the bakwas"
"Whenever I play a match against India, there is an offer. I was asked to make some excuse and to not play the match before the 2015 World Cup game. I told them I am very sincere with Pakistan and don't talk to me about this topic and asked them where they got the number from. The offers were all on the phone and PCB has all the records. If anyone even said it as a joke, I have reported it to PCB"
"Pakistan is my first priority and I can do anything for the country. I will never do anything bad for the country. If Pakistan is ever damaged because of me, I think I will quit cricket"
"There are life threats as well, I don't care about them. They claim to have information about where I go and what I am doing. I told them to do what they want. It's because of Pakistan that I have anything today. If any fixer takes my life, it's no big deal. Our army and security department makes such sacrifices all the time"
Last edited by a moderator:
) He does give you a good laugh, got to give him that
