Ramiz Raja: “There is a lesson for all the players, if you are not disciplined and if you cannot zip your mouth while playing, then there is a larger probability that you will be at the receiving end of injustice”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Ramiz Raja, the former Pakistan captain, said batsman Umar Akmal was on the “receiving end of injustice” since he couldn’t zip his mouth.
Ramiz noted that Akmal’s inability to remain disciplined led to the downfall of his career as he went from being seen as a prodigy to being axed from the national team.
He added that it is really unfortunate, especially considering how much talent the 33-year-old possessed.
“There is a lesson for all the players, if you are not disciplined and if you cannot zip your mouth while playing, then there is a larger probability that you will be at the receiving end of injustice – quite an unfortunate scenario,” Ramiz was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Akmal played for the Quetta Gladiators in the 2023 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and mustered 95 runs in six matches at an average of 23.75 and a strike-rate of 186.27.
He was not picked for Pakistan’s upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka in July.
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