Kamran Akmal finally gets dropped, Haider plays
Kamran Akmal has finally been shown the door and has not been a part of the playing eleven of the Pakistani side for the second Test match against England at Birmingham. Akmal struggled with his gloves throughout the Test match and dropped some important catches in the game to let the opposition off the hook.
Apart from that, he bagged a pair and lasted all of five deliveries in the entire game. Akmal’s worst drop was that of Eoin Morgan, who was given the let-off when he was on 5. Morgan went on to smash a century. Even Paul Collingwood was let-off in both the innings, including a dropped catch and a missed stumping.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s captain Salman Butt downplayed the event by saying that Akmal was only being rested because he had had a bad time behind the stumps. Butt added that the rest will give him a ten-day break to get over the disappointment of the first Test match.
Butt said, “I'm sure he is a champion player and he will work hard to make a comeback.”
In place of Akmal, it will be the 24-year-old, Zulqarnain Haider, who will keep wickets in the second Test match. Haider has played only one T20I, and hence will be making his Test match debut in this game.
This is not the first time that Akmal has been dropped from the Pakistani side for poor wicket-keeping. In http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 this year, the Pakistanis had lost the Sydney Test thanks to three successive dropped catches off Michael Hussey. Hussey went on to score a century and despite having conceded a 200-run lead in the first innings, Australia won the game.
What has worked in Akmal’s favour is that his batting has been better than most wicket-keepers in the country. He has six centuries in 51 Tests, and has played some crucial innings to take his side out trouble. However, with 34 dropped catches in the last 28 games, the axe was on expected lines.
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