Intikhab Alam predicts 'great future' for Umar Akmal

[sali]

Inti comes up with a revalation. Can he come up one for Imran Farhat? What's his future?

Intikhab Alam predicts 'great future' for Umar AkmalCricinfo staff

November 26, 2009


Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam has predicted a "great future" in international cricket for debutant Umar Akmal, who rescued his team with a brazen century after the top order had collapsed on the third day in Dunedin. Umar began his innings after Shane Bond and Chris Martin had reduced Pakistan to 85 for 5, trailing by 344 runs in the first innings. He dominated a 176-run partnership with his older brother Kamran and helped Pakistan avoid the follow-on.

Umar has acquired a reputation of being a dasher with a cool head in the limited-overs formats and he began his Test career by cutting Bond for four off his first ball. He raced to his century with three consecutive boundaries off Iain O'Brien, eroding New Zealand's advantage with aggression: Umar hit 21 fours and two sixes in his innings of 129.

"He is something very special and a very exciting player," Intikhab said after Pakistan's recovery. "He is a very hard working, dedicated young person [and] a very exciting cricketer. We are lucky to have him in the side and I think he's got a great future for Pakistan.

"The good thing is that he never gets under pressure. He played his own natural game [today]. His mother said she would be praying for him and she hoped he would score some runs. She told him to just relax and take it easy but he didn't listen to her."

While 19-year-old Umar was making his first splash in Test cricket, 34-year old Shane Bond was making his comeback after two years of ICL exile and just how much his team missed him was immediately evident. Bowling with the wind, Bond gradually cranked up his pace from 140 kmh to close to 150 and accounted for three top-order batsmen. He ended the day with figures of 4 for 93 and was "pretty happy to come through" after bowling 24 overs in a day.

"My body felt pretty good the whole day and it's always nice to get wickets. I really enjoyed it," Bond said after his performance. "I was pretty keen to try and get that tonight. I'll want the ball first up tomorrow morning to try and finish that off."

Despite his success, Bond was surprised at how flat the University Oval wicket was. "We just had to make a conscious effort to run in hard and bowl aggressively on that wicket. Sometimes you leak a few runs doing that but I think you give yourself the best chance of taking wickets."

New Zealand are ahead by 122 runs with two days to go and Pakistan have only a couple of wickets in hand, a position Bond was happy with. "I think it's important we clean up those wickets tomorrow morning then we've got a good lead hopefully. Then the game is ours to set up. We could still lose the game if we bat poorly but if we play well then we can set the game up and hopefully be the only team that can win it."

[MIG]

Pls no personal remarks or abuse.

Thanks

[cricket_fever]

Originally Posted by sali Inti comes up with a revalation. Coach, if you think he is the best then you should promote him before Shoib so he doesn't run out of partners in every game. Can he come up one for Imran Fart? What's his future? Intikhab Alam predicts 'great future' for Umar AkmalCricinfo staff November 26, 2009 Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam has predicted a "great future" in international cricket for debutant Umar Akmal, who rescued his team with a brazen century after the top order had collapsed on the third day in Dunedin. Umar began his innings after Shane Bond and Chris Martin had reduced Pakistan to 85 for 5, trailing by 344 runs in the first innings. He dominated a 176-run partnership with his older brother Kamran and helped Pakistan avoid the follow-on. Umar has acquired a reputation of being a dasher with a cool head in the limited-overs formats and he began his Test career by cutting Bond for four off his first ball. He raced to his century with three consecutive boundaries off Iain O'Brien, eroding New Zealand's advantage with aggression: Umar hit 21 fours and two sixes in his innings of 129. "He is something very special and a very exciting player," Intikhab said after Pakistan's recovery. "He is a very hard working, dedicated young person [and] a very exciting cricketer. We are lucky to have him in the side and I think he's got a great future for Pakistan. "The good thing is that he never gets under pressure. He played his own natural game [today]. His mother said she would be praying for him and she hoped he would score some runs. She told him to just relax and take it easy but he didn't listen to her." While 19-year-old Umar was making his first splash in Test cricket, 34-year old Shane Bond was making his comeback after two years of ICL exile and just how much his team missed him was immediately evident. Bowling with the wind, Bond gradually cranked up his pace from 140 kmh to close to 150 and accounted for three top-order batsmen. He ended the day with figures of 4 for 93 and was "pretty happy to come through" after bowling 24 overs in a day. "My body felt pretty good the whole day and it's always nice to get wickets. I really enjoyed it," Bond said after his performance. "I was pretty keen to try and get that tonight. I'll want the ball first up tomorrow morning to try and finish that off." Despite his success, Bond was surprised at how flat the University Oval wicket was. "We just had to make a conscious effort to run in hard and bowl aggressively on that wicket. Sometimes you leak a few runs doing that but I think you give yourself the best chance of taking wickets." New Zealand are ahead by 122 runs with two days to go and Pakistan have only a couple of wickets in hand, a position Bond was happy with. "I think it's important we clean up those wickets tomorrow morning then we've got a good lead hopefully. Then the game is ours to set up. We could still lose the game if we bat poorly but if we play well then we can set the game up and hopefully be the only team that can win it."

such a sweet mummy...her duas helped him...but his innings were impressive! But when misbah joins the squad who is gonna get kicked out?

[zaid65]

Wow, what a great insight, we didn't know that Umar has great future. You see Inti is earning his pay check by predicting insightful news.

Great coach!!

[fawad_wellwisher]

I also predict a great future for Umar and so do a billion other Pakistanis

[Savak]

I know for a fact Inti doesnt have any future ahead of him. A complete waste of space, has added no value to the team since he took over, he has given us nothing but batting collapses after collapses.

We need technical and full time professional coaches, not grandpa's. The PCB should just appoint a full time batting coach and a full time fast bowling coach.

[Lethal]

Originally Posted by Savak I know for a fact Inti doesnt have any future ahead of him. A complete waste of space, has added no value to the team since he took over, he has given us nothing but batting collapses after collapses. We need technical and full time professional coaches, not grandpa's. The PCB should just appoint a full time batting coach and a full time fast bowling coach.

Agreed. They also need to get rid of a few players who are just mere passengers and replace them with youngsters that deserve to play.

Farhat and S.Malik need to go. I'm sorry to say that Manzoor is not a player who can open the batting. He maybe early in his career but is not test match material.

[Seen Sheen]

Originally Posted by sali Inti comes up with a revalation. Can he come up one for Imran Farhat? What's his future? Intikhab Alam predicts 'great future' for Umar AkmalCricinfo staff November 26, 2009 Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam has predicted a "great future" in international cricket for debutant Umar Akmal, who rescued his team with a brazen century after the top order had collapsed on the third day in Dunedin. Umar began his innings after Shane Bond and Chris Martin had reduced Pakistan to 85 for 5, trailing by 344 runs in the first innings. He dominated a 176-run partnership with his older brother Kamran and helped Pakistan avoid the follow-on. Umar has acquired a reputation of being a dasher with a cool head in the limited-overs formats and he began his Test career by cutting Bond for four off his first ball. He raced to his century with three consecutive boundaries off Iain O'Brien, eroding New Zealand's advantage with aggression: Umar hit 21 fours and two sixes in his innings of 129. "He is something very special and a very exciting player," Intikhab said after Pakistan's recovery. "He is a very hard working, dedicated young person [and] a very exciting cricketer. We are lucky to have him in the side and I think he's got a great future for Pakistan. "The good thing is that he never gets under pressure. He played his own natural game [today]. His mother said she would be praying for him and she hoped he would score some runs. She told him to just relax and take it easy but he didn't listen to her." While 19-year-old Umar was making his first splash in Test cricket, 34-year old Shane Bond was making his comeback after two years of ICL exile and just how much his team missed him was immediately evident. Bowling with the wind, Bond gradually cranked up his pace from 140 kmh to close to 150 and accounted for three top-order batsmen. He ended the day with figures of 4 for 93 and was "pretty happy to come through" after bowling 24 overs in a day. "My body felt pretty good the whole day and it's always nice to get wickets. I really enjoyed it," Bond said after his performance. "I was pretty keen to try and get that tonight. I'll want the ball first up tomorrow morning to try and finish that off." Despite his success, Bond was surprised at how flat the University Oval wicket was. "We just had to make a conscious effort to run in hard and bowl aggressively on that wicket. Sometimes you leak a few runs doing that but I think you give yourself the best chance of taking wickets." New Zealand are ahead by 122 runs with two days to go and Pakistan have only a couple of wickets in hand, a position Bond was happy with. "I think it's important we clean up those wickets tomorrow morning then we've got a good lead hopefully. Then the game is ours to set up. We could still lose the game if we bat poorly but if we play well then we can set the game up and hopefully be the only team that can win it."

having no confidence on his batting team-mates..and I am pretty hopeful would repeat the heroics of Galle 06'

[Seen Sheen]

Originally Posted by zaid65 Wow, what a great insight, we didn't know that Umar has great future. You see Inti is earning his pay check by predicting insightful news. Great coach!!

maybe he's a master of 'Tota Faal'...

[Luton Bad Boy]

Originally Posted by Seen Sheen having no confidence on his batting team-mates..and I am pretty hopeful would repeat the heroics of Galle 06'

It does have that eeringly similar feel to Galle 06

It just set up for Asif to run through NZ's batting lineup and Pakistan chasing 250 odd rather than 450 odd

[Xoib]

Originally Posted by Luton Bad Boy It does have that eeringly similar feel to Galle 06 It just set up for Asif to run through NZ's batting lineup and Pakistan chasing 250 odd rather than 450 odd

thanks for jinxing

[Seen Sheen]

Originally Posted by Luton Bad Boy It does have that eeringly similar feel to Galle 06 It just set up for Asif to run through NZ's batting lineup and Pakistan chasing 250 odd rather than 450 odd

everybody is talking about NZ slightly ahead and best possible result for Pakistan is a draw but as we know team Pakistan is most lethal when we are having our backs to the wall..Dont write us off ,:aamir

[Seen Sheen]

Originally Posted by Xoib thanks for jinxing

[jatt799]

Originally Posted by cricket_fever such a sweet mummy...her duas helped him...but his innings were impressive! But when misbah joins the squad who is gonna get kicked out?

malik should go poor shot wen ge get out we dont need him in test match

[Luton Bad Boy]

Originally Posted by Seen Sheen everybody is talking about NZ slightly ahead and best possible result for Pakistan is a draw but as we know team Pakistan is most lethal when we are having our backs to the wall..Dont write us off ,:aamir

If we rely on those four, what about the remaining seven players....

Now Pakistan requires a whole TEAM effort to get out of this muddle...

It needs Imran Fart to score 20 runs, Yousaf to play longer than 15 overs and Akmals to put together another 80-90 runs

[MIG]

Umar Akmal will not play blinders in every innings. The rest of the squad needs to step up

[Koenigsegg]

Originally Posted by sali Intikhab Alam predicts 'great future' for Umar AkmalCricinfo staff

[Edit by Mods: No abuse pls] never fails in making me speechless.
What an intelligent statement !!!!

But wait... Isn't it the same Umar Akmal who was kicked out of National Cricket academy for some minor discipline issue instead of having his talent being polished? I guess Umar was brought back into the academy on personal "Sifaarish" of Kamran Akmal or else Umar was a piece of history already.

[ali_786]

Originally Posted by fawad_wellwisher I also predict a great future for Umar and so do a billion other Pakistanis

ermm.... there aren't that many Pakistanis

[Seen Sheen]

Originally Posted by Luton Bad Boy If we rely on those four, what about the remaining seven players.... Now Pakistan requires a whole TEAM effort to get out of this muddle... It needs Imran Fart tohold onto the catches,not to waste the reviews and score 20 runs, Yousaf to play longer than 15 overs and Akmals to put together another 80-90 runs

fixed..
P.S-again Pakistan team cant do everything right...and thats the beauty of our cricket.... it takes some individual brilliance to bail us out of trouble,..

[insaaniyat]

Intakhab Alam is a very smart man to predict that.

[Seen Sheen]

Originally Posted by ali_786 ermm.... there aren't that many Pakistanis

again through 'tota faal',he has given a prediction about population of the country too..

[BoomBoomCricket]

Umar has a very bright future ahead of him. He is the shining light in Pakistan cricket along with Aamer. The brotherhood 6th wicket partnership was adorable and phenomenal. This has revived Pakistan’s chances in this match from a situation of virtual defeat.

Hats of to UMAR AKMAL

[Boi]

Part 1 done. Now all I want is to see Fawad score big in the 2nd innings so that they both wont be dropped for 2nd Test.
Great knock from U Akmal. Got very good support from his brother, which I think really helped him settle down into Intl cricket so easily. He got through the Bond spell and then just excelled wonderfully.
Keep it up!

[Geordie Ahmed]

No idea why people are laying into Inti for this comment - why dont you grow up?

Granted you may not like him as a coach and want him removed BUT having a go at him for commenting on Umar Akmal is just lame.

He would obviously have been asked about Umar Akmal and he shared his thoughts, big deal if the comments are kinda obvious, what did you want him to say?

[mindless slogging]

Originally Posted by ali_786 ermm.... there aren't that many Pakistanis

You aint been to Birmingham.

[zaid65]

Originally Posted by Geordie Ahmed No idea why people are laying into Inti for this comment - why dont you grow up? Granted you may not like him as a coach and want him removed BUT having a go at him for commenting on Umar Akmal is just lame. He would obviously have been asked about Umar Akmal and he shared his thoughts, big deal if the comments are kinda obvious, what did you want him to say?

No there is nothing wrong what he said, but almost every single analyst and commentator, even Younis Khan has said the same thing after the SL tour. Even if tomorrow Eijaz Butt can make the similar statement and nothing will be wrong, but our coaches and senior players should come out with some more insightful information instead of obvious statement.

I also wonder, if Umar would have out on first ball, would he still come out with this statement and he would still be bold enough and said, Umar has great future?

These youngsters need backing from coaches and senior players when they are not scoring runs, it is easy to make statement when somebody score century on debut.

[mindless slogging]

On a serious note, one of the N.Z. commentators (and we like to think of them as biased) said about Umar Akmal (when he was approaching/reached a century) that this could be an important innings for a player we could be talking about 15 years from now as one of the best.

That is a compliment. And InshAllah the kid will perform everytime, but I agree with MIG. There is only so many times that bad performances from 5/6 batsmen can be substituted by superb innings by 1/2 players. The rest need to perform (or if they are not good enough, yet younger guys in. Players like Azhar Ali, Ghani, Umar Amin, Ahmed Shahzad won't fail every game bar one a year).

[insaaniyat]

Originally Posted by zaid65 No there is nothing wrong what he said, but almost every single analyst and commentator, even Younis Khan has said the same thing after the SL tour. Even if tomorrow Eijaz Butt can make the similar statement and nothing will be wrong, but our coaches and senior players should come out with some more insightful information instead of obvious statement. I also wonder, if Umar would have out on first ball, would he still come out with this statement and he would still be bold enough and said, Umar has great future? These youngsters need backing from coaches and senior players when they are not scoring runs, it is easy to make statement when somebody score century on debut.

Zaid, you have a very valid point.

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by zaid65 No there is nothing wrong what he said, but almost every single analyst and commentator, even Younis Khan has said the same thing after the SL tour. Even if tomorrow Eijaz Butt can make the similar statement and nothing will be wrong, but our coaches and senior players should come out with some more insightful information instead of obvious statement. I also wonder, if Umar would have out on first ball, would he still come out with this statement and he would still be bold enough and said, Umar has great future? These youngsters need backing from coaches and senior players when they are not scoring runs, it is easy to make statement when somebody score century on debut.

What insightful comment do you expect him to make?

If someone asks you about Umar Akmal, honestly what do you REALLY expect him to say?

[jwizle]

yes i agree, umar akmal certainly does have great future ahead of him. we just need to find another solid batsman like umar akmal who also has a great future ahead of him so that he can replace the likes of a shoaib malik or even Yousuf (he's up there in age, certainly not 35 as cricinfo says). Umar Amin seems like another player we should definitely give a try.

[zaid65]

Originally Posted by Geordie Ahmed What insightful comment do you expect him to make? If someone asks you about Umar Akmal, honestly what do you REALLY expect him to say?

First of all, no where in the article said that somebody ask him a question about his future. This to me, more like his own press statement. Secondly, just read these lines:

His mother said she would be praying for him and she hoped he would score some runs. She told him to just relax and take it easy but he didn't listen to her."

You think this is an intellectual or statement from a professional coach? what was the purpose of making this statement? Too much Indian movies, I think!!

[Juggernaut]

I have to agree with zaid65.

What Inti's saying is pretty darned obvious to anyone.

Anyway, Just wanted to congratulate Umar on a fantastic performance. I could only catch the highlights but well done to the lad. Dug us out of a hole. Trust me I'm a lot more happy for him then this post sounds.


Well done to Kami aswell. But one thing I will say (and perhaps Inti should have said) is that Kami got out with an atrocious shot. Gave his wicket away. It may sound harsh but I think he missed out on a 100.

[Seen Sheen]

Originally Posted by zaid65 No there is nothing wrong what he said, but almost every single analyst and commentator, even Younis Khan has said the same thing after the SL tour. Even if tomorrow Eijaz Butt can make the similar statement and nothing will be wrong, but our coaches and senior players should come out with some more insightful information instead of obvious statement. I also wonder, if Umar would have out on first ball, would he still come out with this statement and he would still be bold enough and said, Umar has great future? These youngsters need backing from coaches and senior players when they are not scoring runs, it is easy to make statement when somebody score century on debut.

spot on..

[zaid65]

Well done to Kami aswell. But one thing I will say (and perhaps Inti should have said) is that Kami got out with an atrocious shot. Gave his wicket away. It may sound harsh but I think he missed out on a 100.

Right after when Kami got out, commentator said that Kami played this shot because he became emotional because of his brother's debut century and that could have been the main reason for loosing his concentration.

If this could be Inti, he would have come out with this gem, "Kami's Mom only prayed for Umar's century not for Kami", but thankfully Inti was not doing the commentary.

[Juggernaut]

Originally Posted by zaid65 Right after when Kami got out, commentator said that Kami played this shot because he became emotional because of his brother's debut century and that could have been the main reason for loosing his concentration. If this could be Inti, he would have come out with this gem, "Kami's Mom only prayed for Umar's century not for Kami", but thankfully Inti was not doing the commentary.

Pakistani's eh? We're way too emotional.

[zaid65]

Originally Posted by Juggernaut Pakistani's eh? We're way too emotional.

In our upper chamber, Intelligence has been replaced with emotions.

[insaaniyat]

Has he predicted about Pakistan's cricket future. Being a Monday morning quarterback is very easy. Why didn;t he say before his century?

[Geordie Ahmed]

Originally Posted by zaid65 First of all, no where in the article said that somebody ask him a question about his future. This to me, more like his own press statement. Secondly, just read these lines: His mother said she would be praying for him and she hoped he would score some runs. She told him to just relax and take it easy but he didn't listen to her." You think this is an intellectual or statement from a professional coach? what was the purpose of making this statement? Too much Indian movies, I think!!

The article does not have to mention the question - the coach didnt just call a press conference and start blabbering.

A question about Umar Akmal would obviously have been asked and he gave his opinion - which he is more than entitled to

I think its just a case of people not liking Inti so they will lambast him for anything he says. I bet if he didnt make a comment then he would have gotten criticism for it as well - the guy cant win

[Savak]

Why doesnt Inti Talk about the failures of Farhat, Manzoor, Malik e.t.c? Why doesnt he talk about what has he done to help those players or is going to do to improve their footwork, technique? Why doesnt Inti talk about what he has been doing to improve the side's fielding? Why doesnt Inti talk about the steps he is taking to make sure Umar Gul gets back to his best?

Why doesnt Inti give a single vibe or indicator that he is seriously, genuinely working harding with the team behind the sidelines? Why state the obvious?

He will only talk about the guys who are performing to just look good. I never ever seriously rated grandpa as coach, its about time his coaching abilities have been exposed.

[Sultan Yusuf]

Altho inti has his issues, in this instance I think everyone's being a bit harsh on him. In all honesty it's the title of the article that is ridiculous, not inti's revelation. Into said many noteworthy things in the interview (e.g. hardworking, dedicated....even the bit abt his mother's duas) yet the only thing the writer chose to headline was that he predicted a great future.....

The writer seems to be the bigger buffoon here.....and that is quite an achievement!