Pakistani Cricket Players Biography Wallpapers : Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal biography

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).

One of the most promising young batsmen to emerge from Pakistan since the Big Three of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, and Younis Khan, Umar Akmal is an explosive batsman who, when on song, can destroy bowling attacks of the highest quality. Though not a champion wicketkeeper, he has been known to throw on the ’keeping gloves and pads on occasion with moderate success, especially in the shorter formats.

Unfortunately for Pakistan, the youngest Akmal — his elder brothers Kamran and Adnan are also wicketkeeper-batsmen who have played for Pakistan — suffers from the same ailment that hampers the rest of the team: inconsistency. A blazing century on Test debut and one in only his third ODI — both in 2009 — promised great things, but five years into his international career, his average in both formats hovers around the 35-run mark.

Akmal has not had a very peaceful career. Apart from the occasional run-ins with the PCB (to be fair to him, that is not very unusual for a Pakistani cricketer), he has also faced arrest due to beating up a police officer, and was booked for serving too many items of food at his wedding. One feels that a more level head and a calmer temperament will go a long way in helping Akmal graduate from being a decent player to being a great one.