"I would like to thank PCB for trusting me once again. I will not let them down" : Umar Akmal

[MenInG]

"I would like to thank PCB for trusting me once again. I will not let them down" : Umar Akmal

"I am playing with a clear mind, Ijaz bhai boosted me with his experience and I applied that"

"We play with Kookaburra ball in intl cricket and home series so it will help us as batsmen and bowlers, if you perform here then it becomes easier at intl level"

"I am doing my workouts, I don't like to think about things in the past, I am looking forward and working hard and looking to improve"

"The 6 teams have the best players from Pakistan, most of the bowlers have played for Pakistan"

"The plan is given by the captain and coach and the batsmen look to apply it in the middle. The coach told me to play my natural game, every player has a different role in the team. We will try to take a lead"

"I try to perform at any number where I am told to bat, I am not going to tell them where I want to bat, I will fulfil whatever the team's demands are"

"There is a new coaching staff in place, I would like to forget things in the past and thank PCB for trusting me once again. I will not let them down and give my best and work hard and try to deliver for Pakistan"

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Akmal can be good as a middle order.pinch hitter. Better than Asif Ali and Imad at the least. But I'd first try Iftikhar Ahmed.

 

[Shazzam]

Should be no where near the team. The guy does not have the right mindset to succeed. We should be investing in proper batsmen who can hit.

 

[Slog]

People should see whether he can maintain that for atleast 4-5 matches.

Cant recall on one match

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Atleast akmal is desperate to be part of the team, shehzad cant even bring himself down to earth

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

"I try to perform at any number where I am told to bat, I am not going to tell them where I want to bat, I will fulfil whatever the team's demands are"

That's a good change.

But U. Akmal just doesn't have the IQ to succeed at international level. Either you don't play him or expect a lot of disappoinments with the bat ala Shahid Afridi.

 

[Shazzam]

That's a good change.

But U. Akmal just doesn't have the IQ to succeed at international level. Either you don't play him or expect a lot of disappoinments with the bat ala Shahid Afridi.

Well at least Afridi had his bowling to fall back on, this guy doesn’t. He is worst than Afridi.

 

[Boycottisno2]

Akmal is a tried and tested FAILURE

 

[Ilan Bluestone]

The fact of the matter is, Umair was never too good to begin with.

He started as a player who had the ability to play all the shots, but without proper temperament that means little.

Bowling adjusts to your style of batting and if you continuously play that same way, you are utterly uses.

It’s mind boggling his selection.

Having said that, the funny thing is though if he used some brains earlier on, he might have been a decent pinch hitter or opener, I’m sure he will be put in a stupid position and will not succeed and the anvil will be over his head.

It boggles my mind that continuous nepotism and cronyism continues and poor decision after poor selection continues.

From the terrible selector selection, to coach selection, to player selection.

I am forever in shock of continuous poor decisions by this cricketing board.

Talent is lacking sure, but at least pick the best available and maybe they will inspire the next generation to be better based on hard work and merit.

This continued poor selection will lead to further and further eroded talent base and Pakistan falling further and further in terms of where they rank within the cricketing world.

For a nation so devoid of something to give them hope, cricket was the one area that bound us all together so as we believed we could achieve anything.

It disgusts me to watch this.

In truth I hope Umar does well because it means good for Pakistan, but he has nothing on merit to deserve selection and is a poor role model for anyone due to the way he plays and due to a clear lack of focus in terms of diet and training hard.

Good luck but I’m not going to hold my breath.

 

[sweep_shot]

I thought Pakistan moved away from Akmal dynasty.

Surprised to see him back.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

I thought Pakistan moved away from Akmal dynasty.

Surprised to see him back.

It's Pakistan. New management => new chances.

 

[Pete Rose]

Narrator:
‘He did’

 

[Chief Destroyer]

This dude has the brain of a toddler but of course it'll take another five years for Pakistan to learn.

 

[Mueez]

He will once again let us down.

Got five chances against Australia, couldn’t capitalize.

Only option I see for him is maybe he replaces Fakhar as an opener who isn’t in great touch, so that Umar can make use of the Powerplay.

I don’t have really high hopes of Akmal Junior.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

He will once again let us down.

Got five chances against Australia, couldn’t capitalize.

Only option I see for him is maybe he replaces Fakhar as an opener who isn’t in great touch, so that Umar can make use of the Powerplay.

I don’t have really high hopes of Akmal Junior.

Still better than that hack Asif Ali.

 

[Saj]

Groundhog day......until the next controversy.

But I hope he sorts himself out and at least tries to fulfil his potential.

 

[Mueez]

Still better than that hack Asif Ali.

Asif is better than Akmal, believe me.

We saw what he did in the England series.

Asif, once ready, has the X-factor to be a game changer.

 

[GreenKhan]

A few glorious sixes in the one day series if selected and he will be considered a saviour. Akmal really needs to apply him self and adapt. A couple of flashy 40s like In the one day series against Australia and then giving it away does not cut the mustard .

 

[Omer2002]

he was the real deal never fulfilled his potential..asif ali is a hack

 

[hitthestump]

Umar Akmal has mental health concerns which are going unaddressed. He needed time out of the game to address his issues (Akon concert, anyone) which were clearly still prevalent when Pak played Australia.


Barely any time has passed since then. He will be the same guy who will throw his wicket away in crunch situations and then get into off field controversy.

At this point PCB are as much to blame if he does it again. They should know better by now.

 

[asma_cricfan]

If he deserves the recall, he should be selected but do he deserve?.
Not long ago he got the chance (i believe aus home series) and he miserably failed. I hope if he selected, he will play sensibly BUT
How and why he is thanking everyone as if he is already selected from the 20 players pool.
Who assured him that he is selected already and this 20 player names is just a formality.

 

[Belawal2014]

I'd like to see him replace Fakhar as the opener.

 

[Titan24]

Was the highest scorer in Pakistan Cup 2019. Scored 342 runs @ 85 and SR of 140, scored century in QAE final last year and performed well in PSL too.

If there are better players available then they should play in domestic tournaments and perform. However, as per the performances of last year or so whether we like it or not, he deserves this comeback.

Fact is we dont have many players who can play big shots when required, mentioning Saud Shakeel, Saad Ali etc to come in the squad wont serve any purpose as they are also consolidators which we already have quite a lot.

Based upon the LOI requirements and combinations you need to play the best player you have hot for each role. Truth is Umar Akmal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khsuhdil Shah and Asif Ali are the only batsmen who can hit big in the middle order and there is no one else. If there are other names I would love to hear those.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Asif is better than Akmal, believe me.

We saw what he did in the England series.

Asif, once ready, has the X-factor to be a game changer.

At the very least Akmal has a decent average of around 36. Asifs is horrid,(around 25 I believe) and in first class cricket it's like 20. He is just a hack. What did he do in England? Hit 2 cute fifties on absolute phattas and failed the other 2 innings

 

[JaDed]

Was the highest scorer in Pakistan Cup 2019. Scored 342 runs @ 85 and SR of 140, scored century in QAE final last year and performed well in PSL too.

If there are better players available then they should play in domestic tournaments and perform. However, as per the performances of last year or so whether we like it or not, he deserves this comeback.

Fact is we dont have many players who can play big shots when required, mentioning Saud Shakeel, Saad Ali etc to come in the squad wont serve any purpose as they are also consolidators which we already have quite a lot.

Based upon the LOI requirements and combinations you need to play the best player you have hot for each role. Truth is Umar Akmal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khsuhdil Shah and Asif Ali are the only batsmen who can hit big in the middle order and there is no one else. If there are other names I would love to hear those.

Well said, the only thing here is he loses focus after an year, I think he will do well for an year.

 

[lucky_fish]

For T20s, Umar as an opener/wicket keeper could work..