Kamran advises Umar to learn from exemplary conduct of Babar Azam, Virat Kohli

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal believes his brother and hard-hitting batsman, Umar Akmal, has failed to live up to his potential despite starting his career around the same time as Indian captain Virat Kohli.

Kohli has gone on to become one of the best batsmen of his generation while Akmal’s career is in doldrums, after being handed a three-year ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for failing to disclose corrupt approaches made to him.

While speaking in a chat show Cow Corner Chronicles, Kamran advised his younger brother to observe and learn from the exemplary conduct of Kohli and Pakistan’s Twenty20 International (T20I) captain Babar Azam.

"My advice for Umar is that he has to learn. If he has made a mistake, he must learn from others. He is still young. There are many distractions in life. But he must learn from say Virat Kohli. In the early days of IPL, Virat was different and then he changed his attitude and approach. Look how he has turned into world's number one batsman," said Akmal.

"Then there is our own Babar Azam who is now in the top three in the world. Then there are other examples like Dhoni. Look at the way he led his team. We should observe and learn from them, as all this benefits our country as well just from looking at these guys, especially the current lot of Kohli, Babar Azam and Abid Ali," he added.

ALSO READ: PCB's legal advisor sends Rs.100 million notice to Shoaib Akhtar

The 38-year-old also called the three-year ban ‘extremely harsh’ while talking about other players who received more lenient punishments on similar offences.

"It has been a difficult time for us as a family with not just Covid-19 but with the situation around Umar. He can never be what the media says he did," he said. "He may have reported late, but PCB should deal with him like anyone else. There are precedents of much shorter bans on similar violations in the past. We are at a loss to understand why Umar has been treated differently.”

"Cricket is our bread and butter. He has been dealt a very raw deal by the previous management [led by former coach Mickey Arthur] as well. He needs a bit more support," he concluded.