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As explosive starts to one’s International careers go, few can rival Umar Akmal. He announced his entry with scores of 66 and 102* within his first 3 ODI innings (at Sri Lanka, 2009) in addition to a 129 and 75 on Test debut (at New Zealand, 2009). Those performances weren’t a surprise. At first class level, Akmal was renowned for his big scores amassed in quick time. 7 years prior to his debut, Umar’s elder brother Kamran had already gotten his taste of international cricket. By 2010, the siblings featured regularly, in tandem for Pakistan.
As a fearless, middle-order batsman, throughout Pakistan’s disappointing spree of series losses against Sri Lanka in 2009 and later at Australia in early 2010, Umar Akmal’s ascendance was one of their few positives. But as the series in Australia progressed, complacency began to creep into Akmal’s Test form, which started to dip. In ODIs though, a hundred and five fifties by his 18th outing maintained a steady average. It was enough to justify an inclusion in Pakistan’s 2010 T20 World Cup squad. He finished the tournament as Pakistan’s 3rd highest-run getter towards their semi-final run.
While still protected as a batsman, featuring at 3-down, in a Pakistan side that lacks specialist batsmen with the temperament for all forms of the game, Umar Akmal is their most proven rookie to fill the void for the years to come.
Fast Facts
Akmal’s total of 204 runs on his Test debut (against New Zealand) is the 8th highest ever.
It’s also the second highest for a Pakistani debutant behind Yasir Hameed’s 275 in 2003.
Akmal’s 129 on Test debut is the 4th highest for a Pakistani, making him one of only 7 players from his country to score a century on debut. Among those on the list, Akmal is the only centurion to have achieved the feat on foreign soil.
It took Umar Akmal 38 matches (6 Tests, 18 ODIs and 14 T20s) until playing for Pakistan in Pakistan, the third most behind teammate Mohammad Aamer (41) and Sri Lankan Greame Labrooy (53).
Along with brother Kamran Akmal, the Akmals are the 4th blood brothers to feature for Pakistan in the 60-odd years of cricket history.
Among top order batsmen, Akmal has the 4th best strike rate overall (Test, ODI and T20) for Pakistani players. (Minimum of 40 matches).
But middle brother Adnan was expected to carry on in the longer format on the forthcoming tour following a decent run since his promising entry as the wicket-keeper/batsman during the last Test series Pakistan played against the Proteas in the United Arab Emirates towards the end of 2010.
Adnan’s track record (440 runs and 55 dismissals in 16 Tests) definitely merited his selection, particularly with Misbah-ul-Haq being his biggest supporter. The Pakistan captain has felt at ease with his departmental team-mate — since both turn out for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the domestic competitions — behind the stumps. But the selectors this time have put their weight behind the in-and-out Sarfraz Ahmed on what is going to be a gruelling tour.
Sarfraz, who captained Pakistan to Under-19 World Cup glory in 2006, has generally remained in the shadow of both Kamran, who celebrates his 31st birthday on Sunday (today) and Adnan for a long time. In fact, Sarfraz made his Test debut ahead of Adnan in 2010 when he was sent on SOS call for the dead rubber fixture against the Aussies in Hobart after Kamran’s infamous howlers in the preceding Test in Sydney had tested the patience of his team-mates on that disastrous trip Down Under.
Widely regarded as the better wicket-keeper by many cynics, Sarfraz is bound to face intense scrutiny when he takes his position behind the timber in the opening Test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Feb 1. A determined character, Sarfraz is amply capable of justifying his selection provided he controls the emotions and the pains he had to endure during his time on the sidelines when Adnan was preferred over him.
Umar Akmal, touted as a batsman of rare brilliance when he started playing first-class cricket in the autumn of 2007, should consider himself extremely fortunate to be still playing at international level. The youngest Akmal has sadly flattered to deceive on many occasions. Some 15 months ago, Mohsin Khan — then the chairman of selectors — made the right call by overlooking him for Test selection after Umar continuously repeated his reckless approach at the crease. It was a move aimed at making the youngster a more disciplined player in all forms of the game, but Umar, apparently, is in no mood to change his egocentric ways as we all saw during the recent limited-overs tour of India.
While most of the South Africa-bound members more or less picked themselves on merit, the fast-tracking of pace-bowling sensation Ehsan Adil is a very bold move keeping in mind that he is still in the middle of his maiden season of first-class cricket. The elevation of Mohammad Irfan is also not without risks since the gangling left-arm paceman is seldom used to bowling long spells in first-class tournaments.
The most remarkable selection is that of the prodigious left-handed batsman Haris Sohail who has now graduated from one form to another without even getting a chance to prove himself on the international stage. He was first selected in the Twenty20 squad for the Sri Lanka tour last June and then picked in the ODI squad for the Indian trip.
Faisal Iqbal, the ever-willing ‘fringe’ batsman also makes a comeback of sorts despite not getting a decent run in the past. Nobody has been made to wait for this long and Faisal, who is still only 31, deserve consistent opportunities to show his mettle.
It is an irony that both Faisal and Misbah made their Test debut together at Auckland against New Zealand in Mach 2001 and over the years have gone in different directions. That’s how Pakistan cricket operates!
Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal
Umar Akmal
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