Kamran Akmal: “I still cannot comprehend why he isn’t being given a chance in the national team, particularly on the batting number where almost every player has been tried”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Kamran Akmal has put the Pakistan selectors on blast after they overlooked his brother Umar Akmal for the recent T20I series against New Zealand.
Kamran noted that Umar is a reliable middle order batsman who has performed well in domestic cricket and meets all the selection criteria.
He added that the selectors have given chances to “almost every player” and it has not worked out to their liking. With that in mind, he questioned why Umar keeps being ignored.
“I am talking about Umar. They announced the T20 team and didn’t include him in the squad; why? He played last year’s PSL and this year’s PSL in rather tough conditions. He tried his best to deliver whenever given an opportunity, a chance, limited amount of balls or overs, etc.,” Kamran said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
“I don’t need to explain or tell anyone; everyone is well aware of the reality. Yet, I still cannot comprehend why he isn’t being given a chance in the national team, particularly on the batting number where almost every player has been tried.”
In the 2023 Pakistan Super League (PSL), Umar scored 95 runs in six matches for the Quetta Gladiators at an average of 23.75 and a strike-rate of 186.27.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a two-Test tour of Sri Lanka, which will run from July 16 to 28.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka Test Series:Â 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
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