What is wrong with Umar Akmal?

[MenInG]

No this is a serious question.

Supposedly blessed with talent, but his career is in tatters at the moment and seems to be heading for oblivion.

Every other season, he is in the news for one reason or the other; his statements to the media are objects of ridicule, he either complains about mistreatment or praises team management to high heavens.

One moment he was telling us Mickey Arthur was destroying Pakistan team, some months later he was praising him. Nothing in between for him!

Anyone remember this?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Video that is allegedly Umar Akmal last night at a concert by Akon in Dubai <a href="https://t.co/bql2QtOaku">pic.twitter.com/bql2QtOaku</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1112353427030528000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Mamoon]

He needs a brain MRI.

I am serious. There is no point in slapping him with bans and fines. It is time to check if he has a genuine problem with his brain.

Our society rarely takes notice of mental health issues. Is it true that there is room for exploitation, but you also get genuine cases and Umar could be one.

His behavior cannot be rationalized as immaturity or stupidity anymore. I believe there is more to it.

 

[Hyperion66]

He was Extremely unfairly treated during his initial years, dropped from tests despite doing reasonably well in some of the toughest away tours very early in his career and was forced to do the job of a lower order slogger while clearly being most talented in the entire line-up. I can't stress this point enough that how poorly he was handled by the PCB. Coming from a humble background with little to no education, conditioning or etiquette, lack of civic sense, poor professionalism coupled with his rebellious tendencies, frustration and the feelings of being hard done by has caused this recent meltdown I believe.

PCB has ruined a genuinely good prospect they are still not aware of it. Not everyone fits the mold, nothing wrong in bending a rule or two or giving some leeway to your best talent. Sometimes gems are best kept uncut, no point crushing it completely trying to give it the shape you desire. If properly nurtured he could have been that dynamic bat in the middle that Pak so desperately needs.

Right now I honestly don't think he has it in him to make a proper comeback, just too messed up mentally.

 

[hitthestump]

He needs a brain MRI.

I am serious. There is no point in slapping him with bans and fines. It is time to check if he has a genuine problem with his brain.

Our society rarely takes notice of mental health issues. Is it true that there is room for exploitation, but you also get genuine cases and Umar could be one.

His behavior cannot be rationalized as immaturity or stupidity anymore. I believe there is more to it.

I work in a related field and without question Umar needs to be assessed.

Kamran also seems a bit bonkers which could be evidence of a genetic issue.

 

[gazza619]

The only solution is to accept the way he is.

He aint gonna change.

 

[Saj]

I worry about him.

Anything is possible.

He needs help, his employers should look at sorting out some help for him.

 

[JattMaula]

He is mentally shot. Help him get his mind in order and then cut him loose.

 

[The Googly]

Serious question.....is he high? He looks rather out of it. What a strange bloke. A screw loose somewhere.

 

[Donal Cozzie]

Said it years ago.

The man is suffering from an intellectual disability. Either that or has a well below par IQ.

Dont mean it in an insulting way. But he is very very clearly not bright and struggles with behaviour and life.

 

[Ronaldo7]

He’s mentally shot.
He doesn’t know what to do anymore

 

[dildilpak]

Looks to be extremely frustrated with everything that has been going on (largely self-inflicted), hence he is now loosing it completely. He needs help ASAP but in any case his international career is now finished - its not just the lack of runs, but also the sense of entitlement & lack of handling failure which did him in.

 

[BreadPakoda]

Has a victim mentality, which isn't uncommon - Shehzad, Kami, Butt, YK, Hafeez, Akhtar, Junaid - many have suffered from it. Rayudu on the other side of the border. This never takes anyone far.

 

[moghul]

He needs a brain MRI.

I am serious. There is no point in slapping him with bans and fines. It is time to check if he has a genuine problem with his brain.

Our society rarely takes notice of mental health issues. Is it true that there is room for exploitation, but you also get genuine cases and Umar could be one.

His behavior cannot be rationalized as immaturity or stupidity anymore. I believe there is more to it.

What exactly you will find in Brain MRI ? You do MRI for some mass or structural disorder or CVA , not for psychological problem. He needs to be evaluated by a psychiatrist.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

To be completely honest he just looks stoned as hell lol. Probably had a couple joras, which would perfectly explain how spaced out he is in this video.

In general though he isn't even close to being the sharpest tool in the shed. I've always stood by the fact that Pakistani cricketers need to be ensured education at the U19 level (make it mandatory, provide a scholarship) to give them that exposure and awareness. I remember reading somewhere that Imran Khan personally made sure that cricketers of the 80s and 90s got an education (I think this included Wasim Akram but not sure). I think if Umar Akmal had a captain like that instead of Afridi, Misbah, he could have been much better handled. Given the leeway to develop his talent without pressure, as well as gotten an emphasis on some basic education. A fitness culture would have helped too.

But these are all hypotheticals. Poor guy suffers from a serious IQ deficiency. However, that doesn't equate to some genetic brain problem. He's dumb, and that's made worse by the fact that he's uneducated. He also likes charas or whatever other drug that gets you floating in space like that. Nothing for an MRI to figure out here when the answer is simple.

 

[kingusama92]

Coming from a humble background and/or not being educated isn't an excuse for his bizarre behavior. Loads of players have been presented with similar odds and still behave like normal human beings.

In fact, using this as an excuse is insulting to those people tbh.

I'm not a medical professional but Umar Akmal has clear-cut psychological issues that need to be addressed.

 

[sshakir411]

He was Extremely unfairly treated during his initial years, dropped from tests despite doing reasonably well in some of the toughest away tours very early in his career and was forced to do the job of a lower order slogger while clearly being most talented in the entire line-up. I can't stress this point enough that how poorly he was handled by the PCB. Coming from a humble background with little to no education, conditioning or etiquette, lack of civic sense, poor professionalism coupled with his rebellious tendencies, frustration and the feelings of being hard done by has caused this recent meltdown I believe.

PCB has ruined a genuinely good prospect they are still not aware of it. Not everyone fits the mold, nothing wrong in bending a rule or two or giving some leeway to your best talent. Sometimes gems are best kept uncut, no point crushing it completely trying to give it the shape you desire. If properly nurtured he could have been that dynamic bat in the middle that Pak so desperately needs.

Right now I honestly don't think he has it in him to make a proper comeback, just too messed up mentally.

Please stop. Him being dropped from the test team had no impact because he got a free ride in the limited overs team for nearly a decade. This is a simple case of him being highly dumb and relying only on “talunt” to succeed in life.

 

[JattMaula]

What exactly you will find in Brain MRI ? You do MRI for some mass or structural disorder or CVA , not for psychological problem. He needs to be evaluated by a psychiatrist.

He has had epileptic seizures. I can personally attest that they can cause brain damage.

 

[Slog]

He definitely has mental issues and I have been saying that for a good five years.

And I’m not even saying that to make fun because I think it is a genuine problem which needs to be addressed for his own good

 

[Colorblind Genius]

No this is a serious question.

Supposedly blessed with talent, but his career is in tatters at the moment and seems to be heading for oblivion.

Every other season, he is in the news for one reason or the other; his statements to the media are objects of ridicule, he either complains about mistreatment or praises team management to high heavens.

One moment he was telling us Mickey Arthur was destroying Pakistan team, some months later he was praising him. Nothing in between for him!

Anyone remember this?

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Video that is allegedly Umar Akmal last night at a concert by Akon in Dubai <a href="https://t.co/bql2QtOaku">pic.twitter.com/bql2QtOaku</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1112353427030528000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

And then they perform Sajdaas in the ground.

But anyway,
when you take off your pants and show your "short comings", and ask the question, show me where is the fat? Then, what you are actually claiming is that whatever you got on display is very skinny.
How dumb can you get?

My problem is not with Umar Akmal.
It's the incompetence of our board administration that STILL did not get it.
I mean, with the kind of history this guy has, it would've been enough of a signal to discard him long time ago.

In teams like England, Australia, India usually when players are removed from the national team due to bad performance, they hardly ever get a chance 5 years later.
But in Pakistan, we are still arguing to bring back Kamran Akmal and Umer Akmal, and Muhammad Irfan, Imran Khan Jr. and Wajahatullah Wasti and whatnot?

Seriously, are we really this dumb and desperate for not being able to see the future and invest time and resources on the younger talent? Our obsession with old glories of the past is unreally stupid, IMO

We are getting a few good signals by a couple of youngsters in the under 19 team.We should jump on the opportunity and train these guys to step up and take the lead on the next level, yet we are inviting the likes of Umar Akmal in the training camps.

 

[Abdul]

I worry about him.

Anything is possible.

He needs help, his employers should look at sorting out some help for him.

Why should PCB waste money on him? They don't owe this stupid guy anything. If he wants help he can get it with his own money.

 

[ind_win]

Umar Akmal has had issues with seizures.
It is a great feat that he played as long as he did at the International level.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/593315/epileptic-seizures-umar-akmal-to-see-neurologist/

 

[Ryw]

Problem with UA is pretty clear, he thinks he is a star, on field off field, in dressing room, domestic cricket. He act like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but you need to have a performance(some achievment) behind it, I have no sympathy for UA, if there will be a Worldcup of scandels then UA will be no.1 NO DOUBT !!!!

 

[Shoaibbtt]

He’s overrated. Does not merit any more chances and other guys deserve a go no matter how good he does in domestic.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

As someone who always mocks Akmals, after reading some replies in this thread, I am starting to feel sorry for Umar.

Mental health issues are a very serious matter!

 

[Mirpur express]

Isn't this an old video? as for chota Akmal he is a lost cause.

 

[Arya]

Initial hype made him believe that success will come to him effortlessly, such was his talent (in his head).

But the realization of ending up a nobody hasn't gone down too well with him and he seems to have lost his head. Sad really, feel bad for him.

 

[jusarrived]

I have been critical of Akmal , especially when he was compared to likes of Virat . He was never in that league , but I think he was one of the few batsmen who could have made a big difference to Pakistan cricket .its not about stats , but pak desperately needed a batsmen with x-factor , which I think Akmal was . They missed a trick by not opening with him in LOIs . His game was suited for power plays , could have easily averaged 45+ with 100+ SR .
All said his off field antics hasn’t helped his cause .

Salman butt was another batsmen who messed up badly .

 

[jusarrived]

Initial hype made him believe that success will come to him effortlessly, such was his talent (in his head).

But the realization of ending up a nobody hasn't gone down too well with him and he seems to have lost his head. Sad really, feel bad for him.

Though he dint live up to the expectations, he dint deserve to be permanently discarded imo

 

[sharmaji]

I 100% agree with you. Umar has been wronged and now is kind of beyond redemption. Forget cricket, he urgently needs psychological evaluation and help in just being sane. His case could be studied by PCB on how not to waste a talent and let it slip away. At least the future players can benefit from his experience.

He was Extremely unfairly treated during his initial years, dropped from tests despite doing reasonably well in some of the toughest away tours very early in his career and was forced to do the job of a lower order slogger while clearly being most talented in the entire line-up. I can't stress this point enough that how poorly he was handled by the PCB. Coming from a humble background with little to no education, conditioning or etiquette, lack of civic sense, poor professionalism coupled with his rebellious tendencies, frustration and the feelings of being hard done by has caused this recent meltdown I believe.

PCB has ruined a genuinely good prospect they are still not aware of it. Not everyone fits the mold, nothing wrong in bending a rule or two or giving some leeway to your best talent. Sometimes gems are best kept uncut, no point crushing it completely trying to give it the shape you desire. If properly nurtured he could have been that dynamic bat in the middle that Pak so desperately needs.

Right now I honestly don't think he has it in him to make a proper comeback, just too messed up mentally.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

As someone who always mocks Akmals, after reading some replies in this thread, I am starting to feel sorry for Umar.

Mental health issues are a very serious matter!

People make it seem very cut and dry as if MRI scans would reveal some glaring issue with his brain. The guy clearly did not receive a good education and isn’t very bright, and has been unable to mentally cope with the amount of criticism and pressure he has received. Conflating mental health issues and throwing the term about is not at all okay. Umar needs to be seen by a psychiatrist.

On a similar note, a lot of people on PP like to use the term “wrist slitter”. Please don’t demean the term by conflating it with people on this forum who cry all the time. Self harm is a very serious issue and should be taken seriously as such. As someone coached in basic mental health therapy, bandying the term about is not only extremely graphic and insensitive, but it might retraumatize some who have suffered from mental health issues of that degree. I would ask posters here to please do your homework before using terms like this.

 

[TalhaSyed]

Mentally weak and fragile. I'm not qualified to say if he has phycological issues or not - but he is mentally weak - weather that's with the bat in hand or off the field.

When batting he would time and time again play a reckless shot and throw his wicket away. Time and time again we would hear that he doesn't have temperament for international cricket. He basically is not mentally strong enough to play international professional sports.

Off the field as soon as he gets criticised - whether by the fitness coach, or the selectors, or the pundits etc. - he is mentally weak and can't comprehend an appropriate way to react or look inwards to see how to fix the problem.

He may have the skill and the talent but mentally he is not fit to play international sport.

 

[shah_1]

We are still diccussing about this pathetic batsman shows the how bad Pakistan cricket is in right now. Any other country, this player would have been forgetten by now

 

[Saj]

Why should PCB waste money on him? They don't owe this stupid guy anything. If he wants help he can get it with his own money.

As an employer you have a duty of care for your employees.

He is a contracted player in domestic cricket.

 

[Blistering Barnacle]

Just wondering why no one has discussed his performances in recent times.

Could he be venting at the people because he's one of the top performers and still getting rejected for so called fitness reasons?

 

[Junaids]

As a psychiatrist I’d like to answer this truthfully.

There are two main personality dimensions to any elite sportsman, including cricketers.

The first is their inherent arrogance and narcissism. The best players - Viv Richards, Glenn McGrath, Virat Kohli, Cristiano Ronaldo et al are ludicrously arrogant, but this arrogance makes them strive to be better than anyone else.

I would argue that this is why Kohli has achieved more than Tendulkar - he had a killer instinct due to arrogance that Tendulkar didn’t, which is why Tendulkar failed to improve after the age of 21.

The second - separate - dimension is insecurity: this is not always a negative - it’s what makes Ronaldo work like a maniac at his game because he is terrified of being overtaken.

Umar Akmal in many ways is similar in personality to Kevin Pietersen: he has high levels of arrogance combined with high levels of insecurity.

Unfortunately there is a third dimension - cultural - which has ruined Umar Akmal’s career. He is from a country in which faith is valued more than science and piousness is valued more than learning. And seniority is valued above all.

So whereas Pietersen identified and worked on his deficits - such as slow left-arm bowling - Umar Akmal is in denial about his fatness.

And in his hierarchical society, he is viewed as insolent and insubordinate.

We saw this recently with Shadab Khan. He has outperformed Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Haris Sohail as a Test batsman in the last two years. Mickey Arthur says that he should be the national captain and that he trains harder than they do. Yet the senior players continue to leak that hole has a “bad attitude”. Which clearly means that he doesn’t respect freeloaders who are senior but lazy.

When you look at Umar Akmal through the prism of the three dimensions that I have listed it’s obvious that he’s no more obnoxious than Cristiano Ronaldo, and at least he hasn’t generated the Ronaldo sex scandals.

But Pakistan is now a country which would not have tolerated Imran Khan’s arrogance and womanising, where he would have had a mediocre 42 year old as skipper with him on the outer.

I’m not sure that Pakistan is a country that can cope with young arrogant sportsmen - it’s now too under the thrall of elderly mediocrities.

 

[Rana]

We all know fitness is not the reason for him being dropped. Umar is still the most reliable boundary rider in Pakistan after Shoaib Malik.

The guy is struggling to cope with ordinary treatment after becoming used to a blue eyed boy life. It’s as simple as that. It’s very hard to cope with life when you lose that superstar importance and see lesser people (in your opinion) being afforded much more opportunity at your cost.

If I were Umar, even I would be regretting the decisions I made when I was at the helm of Pakistan cricket team and they relied on me to win matches for them. I would be regretting the decision to give up wicket keeping in limited overs cricket. I would regret not stepping up and trying to bat as an opener or number 3 and really try to take the game to the opposition, setting a tone for Pakistan to score big.

Regrets, frustration, hate, nobody to trust. That’s what he is going through right now. Tragic case I’m afraid

 

[Rana]

I believe it’s the last throw of the dice. The guy has tried everything and has failed in the middle order and lower order.

He really needs to see what he is all about as an opener in limited overs cricket. He can’t be worse or as inconsistent as Fakhar Zaman

 

[light]

As a psychiatrist I’d like to answer this truthfully.

There are two main personality dimensions to any elite sportsman, including cricketers.

The first is their inherent arrogance and narcissism. The best players - Viv Richards, Glenn McGrath, Virat Kohli, Cristiano Ronaldo et al are ludicrously arrogant, but this arrogance makes them strive to be better than anyone else.

I would argue that this is why Kohli has achieved more than Tendulkar - he had a killer instinct due to arrogance that Tendulkar didn’t, which is why Tendulkar failed to improve after the age of 21.

The second - separate - dimension is insecurity: this is not always a negative - it’s what makes Ronaldo work like a maniac at his game because he is terrified of being overtaken.

Umar Akmal in many ways is similar in personality to Kevin Pietersen: he has high levels of arrogance combined with high levels of insecurity.

Unfortunately there is a third dimension - cultural - which has ruined Umar Akmal’s career. He is from a country in which faith is valued more than science and piousness is valued more than learning. And seniority is valued above all.

So whereas Pietersen identified and worked on his deficits - such as slow left-arm bowling - Umar Akmal is in denial about his fatness.

And in his hierarchical society, he is viewed as insolent and insubordinate.

We saw this recently with Shadab Khan. He has outperformed Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Haris Sohail as a Test batsman in the last two years. Mickey Arthur says that he should be the national captain and that he trains harder than they do. Yet the senior players continue to leak that hole has a “bad attitude”. Which clearly means that he doesn’t respect freeloaders who are senior but lazy.

When you look at Umar Akmal through the prism of the three dimensions that I have listed it’s obvious that he’s no more obnoxious than Cristiano Ronaldo, and at least he hasn’t generated the Ronaldo sex scandals.

But Pakistan is now a country which would not have tolerated Imran Khan’s arrogance and womanising, where he would have had a mediocre 42 year old as skipper with him on the outer.

I’m not sure that Pakistan is a country that can cope with young arrogant sportsmen - it’s now too under the thrall of elderly mediocrities.

Great insight! Loved every bit of it.

 

[Rana]

As a psychiatrist I’d like to answer this truthfully.

There are two main personality dimensions to any elite sportsman, including cricketers.

The first is their inherent arrogance and narcissism. The best players - Viv Richards, Glenn McGrath, Virat Kohli, Cristiano Ronaldo et al are ludicrously arrogant, but this arrogance makes them strive to be better than anyone else.

I would argue that this is why Kohli has achieved more than Tendulkar - he had a killer instinct due to arrogance that Tendulkar didn’t, which is why Tendulkar failed to improve after the age of 21.

The second - separate - dimension is insecurity: this is not always a negative - it’s what makes Ronaldo work like a maniac at his game because he is terrified of being overtaken.

Umar Akmal in many ways is similar in personality to Kevin Pietersen: he has high levels of arrogance combined with high levels of insecurity.

Unfortunately there is a third dimension - cultural - which has ruined Umar Akmal’s career. He is from a country in which faith is valued more than science and piousness is valued more than learning. And seniority is valued above all.

So whereas Pietersen identified and worked on his deficits - such as slow left-arm bowling - Umar Akmal is in denial about his fatness.

And in his hierarchical society, he is viewed as insolent and insubordinate.

We saw this recently with Shadab Khan. He has outperformed Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq and Haris Sohail as a Test batsman in the last two years. Mickey Arthur says that he should be the national captain and that he trains harder than they do. Yet the senior players continue to leak that hole has a “bad attitude”. Which clearly means that he doesn’t respect freeloaders who are senior but lazy.

When you look at Umar Akmal through the prism of the three dimensions that I have listed it’s obvious that he’s no more obnoxious than Cristiano Ronaldo, and at least he hasn’t generated the Ronaldo sex scandals.

But Pakistan is now a country which would not have tolerated Imran Khan’s arrogance and womanising, where he would have had a mediocre 42 year old as skipper with him on the outer.

I’m not sure that Pakistan is a country that can cope with young arrogant sportsmen - it’s now too under the thrall of elderly mediocrities.

Good post but I just think you are over thinking for someone who really isn’t that bright. Umar is running out of time and it’s simply his frustration that is getting the best of him. He needs a long rope if he is to get something back together in his career. What must also eat away in his mind is the fact that he isn’t even considered good enough to be in the squad.

 

[Misia]

I wonder does he suffer from mental illness called bipolar

 

[Cric_lover4487]

Good post but I just think you are over thinking for someone who really isn’t that bright. Umar is running out of time and it’s simply his frustration that is getting the best of him. He needs a long rope if he is to get something back together in his career. What must also eat away in his mind is the fact that he isn’t even considered good enough to be in the squad.

Looking into comments made by ex cricketers like Afridi, Sehwag, Shoaib, Razzaq etc, one can say that many cricketers have succeeded despite having low IQ. If you have cricketing intelligence that’s enough. I don’t like when people say Umar is dumb. He is an athlete not a scientist.
Not just Umar Akmal, any player will struggle to maintain their composure if they had to suffer like him. He was once compared to Kohli now he is humiliated in fitness tests for first class cricket. Sometimes I feel media in our part of world thrives on negativity. People enjoy watching someone’s fall from grace. It’s tragic.