Basit Ali discusses Umar Akmal's strengths and weaknesses, and asserts his carefree attitude, if left unchecked, will cause more harm than good to his career in the long run.

By Saj Sadiq (9 December 2011)

 

The recently concluded one day series in Bangladesh was a relative success for Umar Akmal and he was duly given the Man of the Series Award after compiling scores of

7, 59 and 57 respectively.

Prior to the series against Bangladesh, Akmal batted on four occasions versus Sri Lanka in the UAE and made 91, 7, 2 and 61 not out.

Now a regular member of the one day and Twenty20 squads, Akmal has become the first choice wicketkeeper in Twenty over cricket and is occasionally handed the wicketkeeping gloves in the 50 over format.

Whilst Akmal's spot in the shorter versions seems to be assured, his place in the test line up is on hold since being dropped from the Test side after he made a disappointing 15 in the only Test match in Bulawayo.

In an interview with PakPassion.net in October, coach Mohsin Khan stated that he did not want wonderful 20s and 30s from Umar Akmal, rather wanted long innings from the talented right hander. Mohsin further stated "This is an opportunity for Umar to go away, work on his batting, learn and realise that test cricket is the toughest form of cricket and that it needs a lot of discipline and that test cricket is indeed a test of one’s talent, determination, concentration and patience".

Akmal returned to domestic cricket after being dropped for the test series in UAE versus Sri Lanka and has made 333 runs at an average of 66.60 for SNGPL with a highest score of 165 in the ongoing Quaid E Azam Trophy Division 2.

Despite Akmal's decent showing in Bangladesh, his current coach at SNGPL, former Pakistan middle order batsman Basit Ali feels that Umar has a lot of work to do before he regains his spot in the test side.

"Umar is undoubtedly a very talented batsman. He has a lot of shots in his armoury and can demoralise any bowling attack. In the space of a few overs he can change the course of a match. However cricket is not about playing a few flashy shots and then going and sitting in the pavilion, looking despondent and watching your team mates at the crease."

Basit's criticism of Akmal was scathing and he added "Umar's biggest problem is his attitude. I question his temperament and whether he wants to listen to advice and guidance. He really does need a change in attitude if he is to become a successful cricketer and someone who plays for Pakistan for a long period."

Basit feels that at the moment the selectors are well within their rights to exclude Akmal who averages 35 in test cricket from the side and thinks that Umar is a long way from a return to 5 day cricket.

"It's absolutely correct that Umar (Akmal) is excluded from the Test side. If he wants to become a test regular then he needs to improve his levels of concentration, improve his shot selection and bat according to the match situation. You simply cannot go out into the middle and throw your bat around every time you go out to bat. If the team are struggling and he goes into bat, I see the same mistakes from him and the same carefree shots. This needs to be eradicated from his batting, but coaches like myself can only guide him and it's up to him what he does in the middle and whether he listens to the advice offered to him."

Basit took over as coach of SNGPL at the start of this season and has led them to promotion to Division 1 also feels that Akmal's best position in one day cricket is number three and that he should not be keeping wicket in one day cricket.

"The way Umar bats, I feel he is best suited to the number three position in the one day team. If the team is 4 down and he comes to bat and he has to bat with responsibility with the lower order, that is something he cannot achieve. If he is going to play the way he does then it's better for the team that they send him in at number three and let him do what he wants. If he is out early then at least in the middle order you have more responsible batsmen who can hold the innings together and bat accordingly with the lower order."

"I also don't agree with Umar keeping wicket in one day internationals. In Twenty over cricket you can have him keeping wicket as it gives the side more balance, but in one day cricket he should not be asked to stand behind the stumps. If this continues I am certain it will have an impact on his batting and form."