Pakistan manager Intikhab Alam denied on Saturday that Umar Akmal had faked a finger injury in a desperate bid to save his blundering brother Kamran's place in the team. Umar, who has been tipped to take the wicket-keeping gloves from his elder brother for Monday's World Cup match against Zimbabwe, hurt his index finger on his right hand in practice two days ago.
But some sections of the Pakistani media have accused him of feigning injury to save Kamran. Team management accused Umar of feigning injury after the infamous Sydney Test against Australia in January 2010, a Test in which Kamran missed three catches off century maker Michael Hussey and a run out of Shane Watson. Then, Umar reportedly refused to play if his brother was dropped. Abdul Raqeeb, who was team manager on that disastrous tour, mentioned the incident in his report which eventually led to fines for both Kamran and Umar.