Umar Akmal: “Mickey Arthur had personal issues with me”
Image courtesy of: Unsplash
Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal has taken a shot at former head coach Mickey Arthur, saying he “had personal issues with me”.
The duo had a strained relationship during Arthur’s tenure as Pakistan’s coach from 2016 to 2019.
With numerous accusations coming from Akmal and Arthur saying that it was “frustrating to work with” the 32-year-old, it is obvious why he didn’t get the opportunity to play much international cricket.
“Mickey Arthur had personal issues with me,” the veteran Pakistan player was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Akmal is back playing domestic cricket after he was banned for failing to report corrupt approaches ahead of the 2020 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
He was initially given a three-year ban, but it was halved to 18 months following an appeal in July 2020.
It was further reduced to 12 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and he was also fined 4.25 million Pakistani rupees.
Akmal represented the Quetta Gladiators in this year’s PSL and amassed 101 runs in five matches, which included a top score of 50, at an average of 20.20 and a strike-rate of 174.13.
He then scored 135 runs in seven games for Central Punjab in the Pakistan Cup at an average of 19.28.
Currently, he is playing for the Jammu Janbaz in the Kashmir Premier League (KPL), where he has accumulated 19 runs in three matches at an average of 9.50 and a strike-rate of 67.85.
Despite wanting to revive his international career, he was not picked for Pakistan’s recent ODI series against Netherlands or the Asia Cup.
Pakistan squad for Asia Cup: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir