The former Pakistan fast bowler, Waqar Younis, launched an attack on Umar Akmal – who was sent back home last week from England after he failed fitness test twice in two days. Akmal was deemed to be unfit to be the part of the team and was replaced by Haris Sohail later in the Champions Trophy side.
Waqar was not amused by the fact that Akmal failed the fitness test and termed this as a blow to image of Pakistan cricket,
“To be blunt, the whole thing was just bizarre and should not have happened. It has damaged the reputation of Pakistan and Pakistan cricket. Something has gone wrong and it’s difficult to blame Umar, or the selectors, or Mickey Arthur until the full facts are known. The Pakistan Cricket Board needs to dig deep and uncover what went on and to resolve this issue to ensure it does not happen again. Whoever is responsible for this episode needs to own up and take responsibility,” Younis told Sky Sports.
Further, he added that Umar is himself responsible regarding how his career has gone down in past few years, due to his own deeds,
“Umar is his own worst enemy. He doesn’t want to work hard, he doesn’t want to put in the effort, he doesn’t want to get fit, and it’s embarrassing. He should be thoroughly ashamed that Mickey Arthur and the coaching staff have had to send him back to Pakistan. Umar should look in the mirror and tell himself, ‘In future, I will sort this out,” added a furious Waqar.
Waqar Younis was in the mood to let go Umar as his hard words towards Umar clearly showed his anger towards him. As the veteran mentioned, Akmal is himself to be blamed for the current stage which he is standing at as he made his international debut as a youngster at an age of just 19 in 2009 but has been in and out of the team due to various other reasons than just his form.
In 2015, the batsman was dropped from the side against England due to ‘Immoral activities’ in a party. In 2016, he was axed from the side due to his poor disciplinary record. Akmal was further not included in the side for the tour to West Indies earlier this year due to fitness issues and later found himself in controversy for asking whereabouts of Junaid Khan, his teammate during the Pakistan Cup. He and Junaid both were fined 50% of their match fees for the verbal spat.
Umar Akmal, who showed promise at the start of his career, has seen a sudden downfall due to his actions and negligence towards the game, which adds to the anger of former players as he is one of the perfect examples of ‘Talent Drain’ in Pakistan cricket, who could not live up to the expectations with wich he came in.