Umar Akmal: “I don’t know why Mickey Arthur doesn’t like me”

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Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal has admitted that he doesn’t know why head coach Mickey Arthur has a problem with him and added that he is confident he will regain his spot in the national team.

Akmal and Arthur have not seen eye-to-eye since the former accused the latter of verbally abusing him and barring him from using the facilities at the National Cricket Academy.

Despite this, Akmal, who has not represented Pakistan since January 2017, hopes to excel in the upcoming Pakistan Cup and use it to capture the national selectors’ attention.

“I will do well in Pakistan Cup and force the selectors to take me on,” he was quoted as saying by the Business Recorder.

When asked about Arthur, Akmal said: “I don’t know why Mickey Arthur doesn’t like me, but as a coach I like him. I can’t say much about [Mickey Arthur] but I am insistent on what I said before.”

In regards to his hopes of making an international comeback, the 27-year-old said: “If you look at my last four Test innings, I [made] three fifties and did not get to bat in one innings. So at that point Waqar Younis said that he [Umar] is no longer a Test player. This you must ask them [other coaches] why I was not selected for Tests, but I am not giving up hope.”

Meanwhile, Akmal also conceded that he cannot believe all-rounder Fawad Alam was left out of the Test squad for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England.

“If you look at how Fawad Alam has maintained his average as a middle order batsman, and how he has performed in our domestic cricket which is very difficult, it is shocking news for me that he hasn’t been selected,” Akmal said. “I can’t tell you what a good human being Fawad is and how he respects youngsters and seniors alike.”