Ramiz Raja: “He was one of my favourite players when he started cricket”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Ramiz Raja has admitted that Pakistan middle order batsman Umar Akmal used to be one of his favourite players.
The former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman acknowledged that he liked what he saw from the 33-year-old when he first splashed onto the scene.
Despite showing plenty of potential, Akmal never lived up to it as his consistency with the bat, coupled with off-field issues and controversies, led to his opportunities decreasing and he was eventually dropped from the Pakistan team.
Ramiz acknowledged that it is a shame to see how his career fizzled out, especially as Akmal was once talked about being Pakistan’s next big superstar.
“He was one of my favourite players when he started cricket,” the former captain was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Akmal recently got the chance to play for the Quetta Gladiators in the 2023 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he made 95 runs in six matches at an average of 23.75 and a strike-rate of 186.27.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in July, but Akmal was not selected for the tour.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka Test Series: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Muhammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood