Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal has admitted his brother Umar Akmal's troublesome character, but said he could have been treated better by the team management.
Umar’s career has already been marred by several controversies, and the recent three-year ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for not reporting corrupt approaches to the board was another shock to the banned cricketer’s contentious Pakistan career.
Well, Kamran has yet again voiced in support of Umar, saying “off-the-field activities are nothing new in Pakistan cricket” and if national team management and the board could have treated his brother with a bit of care, then Umar could've turned out like Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi.
Citing the example of Inzamam-ul-Haq who efficiently handling players like Afridi and Akhtar – who were also problematic characters in the team during their early days, Kamran rued that his brother was not given such support over his disciplinary issues.
Kamran said during an interview with Cricket Pakistan: “Off the field activities in nothing new in Pakistan cricket. Team management and the captain should know how to deal with such players. Look at the way Inzi Bhai [Inzamam] handled Shoaib [Akhtar], Asif and Shahid [Afridi]. If the same was done with Umar Akmal, things would have turned out differently.”
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He also claimed that he was intentionally kept out of the Pakistan side despite performing consistently at the domestic level. The out-of-favor batsman said, “I have been performing in domestic cricket and PSL during the last five years but despite that, I have not been given a chance to play for Pakistan.”
Kamran further added, “In the recent past, a couple of coaches did not like me which is why I remained on the sidelines. It’s unfair to keep me out of the Test and T20I side, especially, because I can play solely as a batsman. If Matthew Wade can make a comeback with an average of 18-20, why not me who averages nearly 60.”
He signed off by saying, “Players are selected on the performance in PSL, while those have been doing well in domestic cricket are ignored. That’s is not how you make good teams. If India started doing this, they would have the entire team selected from IPL. Tournaments like IPL and PSL are good for exposure and confidence but the performances that count come from four-day cricket.”
(With Cricket Pakistan Inputs)
