'Umar Akmal has made a bogus attempt to deviate attention from his own failings'

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday condemned the reckless statements made by batsman Umar Akmal regarding his omission from the ICC Champions Trophy squad.

“While making frivolous allegations against the national team management, Umar has made a bogus attempt to deviate attention from his own failings,” said a statement released by the PCB.

The statement says that Umar was given as many as seven chances to improve his fitness and match the standards of his teammates, laid out by the team management but he failed to come up to the expectations of fitness level.

The PCB stressed that the team trainer conducted fitness tests of squad members before each international assignment and the tests before the Champions Trophy were conducted as a continuation of the policy.

Once again Umar failed to attain the desired level of fitness and the team management was left with no option but to drop him from the squad, it said.

Head Coach Mickey Arthur had placed Umar in his white ball format plans and gave him repeated chances for redemption, unfortunately though the batsman remained incapable of reaching the requisite fitness level, said the PCB.

“The PCB awaits his response to the show cause issued to him on Thursday and hopes that in the meantime, the batsman will refrain from making baseless allegations,” it said.

On the other hand, Umar in a series of tweets said he was left out from the CT team by design made by Pakistan team’s head coach Mickey Arthur. He said it was clear from his last selection in team that he was being ignored for the last four years on purpose.

مگر افسوس جب میں انگلینڈ پہنچا تو مکی آرتھر نے ایک منصوبے کے تحت ساری ٹیم کا ڈمی ٹیسٹ لیا اور مجھے ان فٹ کہہ کر واپس بھیج دیا 4/10

— Umar Akmal (@Umar96Akmal) August 17, 2017

 

Umar Akmal on Wednesday had accused Mickey Arthur of verbally abusing him and throwing him out of National Cricket Academy.

Speaking to media in Lahore, the middle-order batsman who was dropped from the Pakistan’s Champions Trophy Squad, had said that the head coach not only used foul language but even asked him to play in some club team instead of coming to cricket academy.

He said that he was dropped out of cricket academy after being given “unnecessary warnings” by the coach.

Akmal claimed that the ugly episode was witnessed by chief selector Inzamamul Haq and a number of other senior players.

He also requested the PCB to take notice of coach’s behaviour.