Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal has often been criticised for failing to live up to the expectations as he is considered as one of the finest talents in the country since he made debut in the late 2000s.
The 26-year old has been often compared to India’s Virat Kohli for the talent he possesses but he has not managed to match with his Indian counterpart in winning the games for his country over the past few years.
Umar Akmal has hit a quickfire 42-ball 66 to help Lahore Qalandars beat Islamabad United, who are the reigning defending champions in the Pakistan Super League yesterday. He was again asked about why he was unable to finish the innings by playing till the end.
Asked why he had not managed to achieve what Virat Kohli has achieved so far in his career, Umar Akmal was quick to react by saying: “Look, you know more than me. When people compare me with Kohli, it’s not fair. It’s a matter of batting positions.”
“Since his (Kohli) debut, he is batting at No. 3 and I have been playing at No. 6. Let me play at 3 and Kohli at 6, then compare me to him. Compare him with Babar Azam, who is doing well at 3. He is in great form, so you can compare him with Babar.”
“I never wailed over my number,” he further insisted. “I do everything for my team. Whatever cricket I have played, it’s for the team and the number comes later. But when people compare me with Kohli, only then do I point out that I bat in the lower middle order.”
India’s Virat Kohli is arguably the greatest batsman on the planet at the moment as he has broken every possible record in the last 18 months and has set new standards for certain records.
The statistics also suggest that Umar Akmal was way behind Virat Kohli which doesn’t support his claim. Akmal has scored only 3044 runs in 116 ODIs with just 2 hundreds while Kohli has already managed 27 hundreds in 179 ODIs in his career.
Virat Kohli, who is the No.1 batsman in T20Is, scored an unbelievable 1709 runs in just 48 T20Is while Akmal has scored only 1690 runs in 82 T20Is so far. The Pakistan player has once again hit the headlines but for wrong reasons yet again.