http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Umar-Akmal-c94595 – An Unfulfilled Potential – Part One
Historically, Pakistan is one of the most fertile lands when it comes to producing cricketers with immense talent. This is primarily the reason behind that fact that the Green Shirts have always been a force in international cricket despite an instable structure
of domestic cricket.
There is no doubt that Pakistan is more known for its tear-away fast bowlers but the quality of batsmen produced by the country over the years has not been bad either.
The likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Yousuf-c77465 will always be remembered in the history books.
However, the situation has not been very encouraging in the recent past, as the Green Shirts have struggled in the batting department and the young players coming through the ranks do not seem to have the temperament to deliver the goods at the highest stage
of the game.
The right-handed middle-order batsman, Umar Akmal, is one of those young batsmen who have promised a lot since making their debuts in international cricket but have failed to live up to the expectations of cricket analysts.
Most of the former cricketers and cricket pundits in the country feel that Umar is the most talented batsman in Pakistan at the moment and little more application can convert him into a genuine match-winner.
He is a dashing young batsman, who loves to play his shots and this is the reason why he already has a massive fan base all around the world. With his flair and exuberance of youth, Akmal is surely a delight to the eyes, when in full flow.
The former Test cricketer and ex-chief selector of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Khwaja-Salahuddin-Ahmed-c71432 is one of many who believe that Umar’s talent is being wasted.
“I acknowledge he is very talented, is a quality fielder and has all the strokes. But he needs to learn which balls offer scoring opportunities and which are to be blocked, which need to be played to midwicket and which to fine leg. Umar Akmal's career is
being damaged due to his poor shot selection,” http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Salahuddin-c88062 told Pakpassion in an exclusive interview.
There is a school of thought among the followers of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 cricket that Umar’s shot-selection is a big hurdle for him in becoming a class act. No one can deny this fact that the stylish batsman from Lahore gets carried away at times and plays rash shots,
which take credit away from him.
However, the management and the think-tanks of Pakistan cricket have played a role in the lack of development of Akmal’s career. He is the highest ranked Pakistani in the ICC’s One Day International batting rankings, yet he bats at number six most of the
times, which is a shame.
Most of the times when Umar comes into bat, Pakistan has either lost four early wickets and he is asked to consolidate the innings, or he bats in the last 15 overs, when he is under severe pressure to score some quick runs.
The right-handed batsman has expressed a number of times that he wants to bat high up the order.
In an interview last year, Umar politely expressed his desire but said that it is his dream to play for his country and is ready to bat anywhere his team wants him to.
"I feel that No. 4 is ideal for me and I am trying to do well lower down the order with an aim to bat higher up the order. I'm grateful that I am in the team and would bat at whatever position the team requires," the young batsman said.
To be continued in part two …
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the author and do not represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy
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