Pakistan middle-order batter, Umar Akmal, has been involved in several controversies on and off the field throughout his international career. During his career, Akmal was banned and fined for breaching PCB’s rules several times.
Last year, the Pakistan Cricket Board had allowed Umar Akmal to resume playing club cricket as part of his rehabilitation process after being banned for 12 months. Since then, he is focused on improving his fitness and making a comeback to the national squad.
While answering a question regarding his selection for the national team he said, “Selection for the national team is the job of the selectors, coaches, and captain, while my job is to continue working hard. I have to improve my fitness so that I can make a comeback to the national side.”
When the cricketer was asked about how much it hurts him when the sectors focus on off-field issues more than performance, he stated that players should be picked on the basis of performance, not personal activities.
It is pertinent to mention here that Umar Akmal’s first controversy emerged in Australia where he allegedly feigned an injury to protest the decision to drop Kamran Akmal. Later he was fined 2 million Pakistani rupees and was put on probation by the PCB for breaching his contract.
In 2017, Akmal criticized national team coach, Mickey Arthur, for stopping him at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to work on his fitness. In 2018 he had also made a controversial statement and said that he was offered US$200,000 to “leave two balls” but he did not accept the offer.
