'He had personal issues with me' - Umar Akmal lashes out at Mickey Arthur, Waqar Younis

Former Pakistan head coaches Mickey Arthur and Waqar Younis have been slammed by middle-order batter Umar Akmal, who claimed he was deprived of the chance to serve his national side for a longer duration due to the duo’s animosity against him. Notably, Akmal has not played an international match since October 2019.

Umar followed the steps of his elder brother Kamran Akmal and Adnan Akmal as he entered the cricketing field. He marked his arrival in style when he smashed a brilliant century on his Test debut against New Zealand and went on to leave an impression in the ODI format too when he brought up his maiden ODI century in just his third game. However, a sudden downfall in form saw his ouster from the national teams.

“Mickey Arthur had personal issues with me but the team management at that time did not raise a voice for me and they have been silent till today. However, Mickey Arthur later did admit that he used harsh words on me. I am among those rare cricketers of Pakistan who have been ignored at every turn,” Akmal was quoted by Cricket Pakistan.

Mickey Arthur, the South African-born coach, who is widely regarded as one of the finest cricket thinkers, had a tense relationship with the Akmal brothers. Arthur detailed the causes for the deteriorating relationships in various interviews after quitting his position in 2019. He had previously mentioned during his interviews that Umar Akmal was arrogant and would not work on his fitness.

After reading the claim on Twitter, Arthur reacted harshly, and took a dig at Akmal implying that the player was the one who brought his own tragedy as he said, “Take a look in the mirror Umar!!”

Take a look in the mirror Umar!! https://t.co/VvZKio0WpP

— Mickey Arthur (@Mickeyarthurcr1) June 14, 2022

Waqar Younis was a legendary fast bowler but I could not understand him as a head coach: Akmal

The 32-year-old batter also revealed that during the 2016 T20 World Cup, he had pleaded against Imran Khan and had requested him to look into the matter of his batting position in the side. “I asked Imran Khan to recommend team management to send me at number three. Imran Khan himself asked Waqar Younis why I was not a part of the top-order. Waqar Younis was a legendary fast bowler but I could not understand him as a head coach,” Akmal said.