Umar Akmal lashes out at Mickey Arthur in response letter to PCB

Umar Akmal further pressed on the allegations on the current head coach Mickey Arthur. The PCB sent him a show-cause notice to which Akmal responded to in a brutal manner. Earlier he had said that Arthur had verbally abused him but in reply to the show-cause notice, Akmal also alleged Arthur of abusing the PCB, the Pakistan and its national flag.

Differences between Akmal and Arthur emerged in England

The fall out between Arthur and Akmal started in May when Akmal was sent home prior to the start of the tournament as he was deemed unfit by Mickey Arthur. The former South Africa coach has stressed the importance of fitness and is hell bent on not compromising on it for any cricketer. Akmal was reportedly over weight and had a fat rate of over 100 which prompted his Champions Trophy snub. He wanted to seek the assistance of Grant Flower, who is the batting coach of Pakistan at the NCA but was stopped by Arthur as Akmal has not got a contract from the PCB which doesn’t give him the right to use the entire facility. In his reply to the PCB notice, Akmal has referred to this incident.

“It is not written anywhere in the law that any person has the legal authority to hurt [someone’s] feelings and self-respect and to disgrace and abuse a test player in front of the chief selector, Mr Inzamam-ul-Haq, Academy Coach Mr Mushtaq and others,” Umar’s reply states.

“Mr Mickey Arthor has not only abused me, he [has also] abused PCB, my nation, Pakistan and its flag, which is not tolerable for any Pakistani,” he writes.

“He ordered me not to use NCA and the staff and told me to play in my club cricket which I have been whether I am in any contract with PCB or not,” Umar says. “My timings were fixed with Grant Flower for practice but when I reached there, Grant refused to practice saying he did not have orders to work with me,” he adds.

Akmals demand a special committee to stage an inquiry

Akmal has demanded PCB to carry out a special inquiry into the said matter and if he is held guilty, he will apologize to Arthur and vice versa. He concluded his letter by affirming his trust in the PCB, that they will handle the case efficiently.

“I have complete trust and faith in my organization that it will solve the issue efficiently, as it is a matter of respect, dignity, and pride of Pakistan and its Nation,” Umar writes in the end of his response.

It remains to be seen how PCB responds to this letter. Former captain Aamer Sohail recently opined that it will be impossible for Akmal to stage a comeback in the international circuit after his serious allegations against Arthur.

Meanwhile, Arthur has brushed off the allegations pressed by Akmal and has said that the middle order batsman is not speaking the truth.