Ramiz Raja: “We all saw a glimpse of how much talent he carries”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Ramiz Raja, the former Pakistan captain, said everyone saw just how much talent Umar Akmal possesses when he was playing for the Quetta Gladiators in the 2023 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Akmal scored 95 runs in six matches at an average of 23.75 and a strike-rate of 186.27.
However, he last played international cricket in October 2019 and only recently returned to domestic cricket after being banned for failing to report corrupt approaches in 2020.
“We all saw a glimpse of how much talent he carries,” Ramiz was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan recently beat Sri Lanka 2-0 in a Test series before crushing Afghanistan 3-0 in an ODI series.
Currently, they are playing in the Asia Cup, where they demolished Nepal by 238 runs before sharing one point apiece with India due to their game being rained off.
Despite this, Pakistan progressed to the Super Four stage and took down Bangladesh by seven wickets, while their rematch against India will be completed on September 11 as the reserve day was needed after rain ruined proceedings when the men in blue were on 147/2 after 24.1 overs.
After the India match, Pakistan will play a Super Four game against Sri Lanka on September 14 in Colombo.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup:Â Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir