Want to make a controversy-free comeback: Umar Akmal

Pakistan’s hard-hitting batsman Umar Akmal has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the recent past. He has been dropped from the national side ahead of the England tour based on disciplinary issues. Now he has made his comeback to the national setup and is included in the squad for the 3 match T20I series against the West Indies in UAE.

Akmal spoke to the Dawn News and expressed his plans after staging a comeback. Akmal said he wants to make a controversy-free comeback. He also admitted that being dropped did not help his cause but featuring in the CPL helped him gain some momentum into his game.

“My aim is to make a controversy-free comeback. The last few months have been very hard on me because I was out of the team. However, playing in the Caribbean Premier League helped me to remain focused,” quoted Umar Akmal.

Akmal further cleared his intentions of making an ODI comeback too after performing well in the T20Is. He cited the West Indies series to be very important for him on the personal note. He quoted, “The upcoming series against Windies is very important for me. I want to help the team win so I can regain a spot in the One-day international line-up.”

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Akmal also acknowledged the support of the Pakistan Cricket Board for giving him a No Objection Certificate and allowing him to feature in the CPL earlier this year. He accredited his selection in the national side to his performance in the CPL and as well as in the domestic T20 championships.

“I thank the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for granting me a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for CPL. My run in the league helped me to score runs in the domestic T20 cup which got me selected for the national side. I thank PCB Chairman Shahryar Khan for giving me confidence,” said Umar Akmal.

“I want to end my cricket career like Pakistan batting greats — Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Misbah-ul-Haq.” concluded Akmal.

Akmal has been in a good form in the recent times. He amassed 304 runs at a staggering average of 101 in the domestic T20 cup. He also smashed a 48-ball 115 for the Lahore Whites and had thwacked Yasir Arafat for 34 runs in an over en route his stunning century.