Tanvir questions PCB’s leniency to Umar

LAHORE: Former Test seamer Tanvir Ahmed firmly believes that batsman Umar Akmal has been given too many chances to play for Pakistan.

Akmal has been recalled numerous times throughout his career, but Tanvir questioned why this is the case when he fails to impress each time. Akmal was recently charged with two breaches of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) anti-corruption code.

Given how many opportunities Akmal has had to cement his place in the national team, Tanvir feels that the 29-year-old “should not be allowed to come back into the side under any circumstances”. “When he [Umar Akmal] is not performing and keeps coming back to the side, it seems to me that his contacts are the only reason. What are the chairman of the PCB and other officials doing in this regard? Why is no one asking selectors why he keeps coming back despite all his controversies,” Tanvir said in a YouTube video.

“PCB chairmen keep changing but Umar Akmal keeps coming back. Nobody is asking why he keeps coming back after so many chances. I can guarantee that if he gets banned for six months, he will be back as soon as his ban is over. Umar Akmal should not be allowed to come back into the side under any circumstances.

“Umar Akmal’s issue is on the forefront nowadays. We know that a day before the PSL, Umar Akmal was not allowed to play for the Quetta Gladiators franchise. He was being investigated for meeting or talking to a bookie. The article 2.4.4 of the PCB’s anti-corruption code clearly states that withholding information in case a bookie approaches you is against the rules and could result in a six-month or a life ban.

“Many people claim that Umar Akmal had a lot of talent including myself. Misbah gave him another chance in 2019 in which he couldn’t perform. Did no selector from his debut in 2009 till now realise that he, even with his talent, is not capable of being in the national side because he cannot do justice to his talent?

“He keeps making comebacks. Are there people behind the scenes who have been pressurising selectors to include Umar Akmal? He goes back to domestic cricket, makes one or two hundreds and comes back. Talented players spend their entire lives performing and don’t get a chance.”