Batsman Umar Akmal Wednesday claimed that coach Mickey Arthur had verbally abused him in the presence of Chief Selector Inzamam-ul-Haq. Akmal told media that he was in National Cricket Academy (NCA) where Arthur abused him and senior players did not stop the coach. He claimed that Arthur had told him to play club-level cricket instead of coming to the academy.
On the other hand, Mickey Arthur denied of abusing Umar Akmal. Umar Akmal further claimed that he was dropped from the team after an unjustified warning. He also said that he wants to inform the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) regarding the behaviour of the coaching staff.
Umar Akmal was not awarded central contract by the PCB. It may be recalled that Umar Akmal was dropped from the Pakistan squad for the Champions Trophy in Birmingham in May this year, after the batsman failed two consecutive fitness tests in two months. The middle-order batsman's failure in fitness tests prompted selectors to bring in Haris Sohail in place of Akmal, asking the cricketer to return home to work on his fitness.
Akmal had also been dropped from the team that toured the West Indies in April, after being the only player, among 31, to fail the fitness test during a camp held at the NCA in March. In an annual assessment earlier this year, Akmal had weighed 91kg with a fat-level reading of 115.6. A measurement in excess of 100 is considered high.
After being released from Pakistan's squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017, Akmal had apologized to his fans, saying he was determined to come back stronger than ever and promised to remain committed to cricket. Former test cricketer Sikander Bakht in his reaction said that coaches usually adopt harsh attitude and advised the players in a harsh way, therefore, Umar Akmal must adopt positive attitude and concentrate on game for come back in the national side.
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