Umar Akmal not giving up hope for international comeback

Pakistan middle-order batsman Umar Akmal hasn’t given up hope of making an international comeback for the Men in Green and has said that his performance in the upcoming Pakistan Cup will force selectors to pick him for the national side.

The 27-year-old said that he will certainly be part of the Pakistan team in the future, according to Business Recorder.

“I will do well in Pakistan Cup and force selectors to select me,” he said.

Talking about his relationship with head coach Mickey Arthur, Umar said that he likes Arthur as a coach but believes the coach doesn’t like him that much.

“I can’t say much about [Mickey Arthur] but I am insistent on what I said before. If you look at my last four Test innings, I made three half-centuries and did not get to bat in one innings. So at that point [former coach] Waqar Younis said that I am no longer a Test player. This you must ask them [other coaches] why I was not selected for Tests but I am not giving up hope,” he said.

Umar further stated that young players, who are selected for the Ireland-England Test tour, should be given a proper chance and should not be removed if they fail to perform in one or two matches.

“Fakhar [Zaman] should not be played as an experiment but given a proper chance. If he has been selected, then he should be given at least 3-4 series to succeed,” he said.

Talking about Fawad Alam’s exclusion from the current Test squad, Umar said: “If you look at how Fawad has maintained his average as a middle-order batsman and how he has performed in our domestic cricket, which is very difficult, it is shocking for me that he hasn’t been selected.”