Bizarre protest – Akmal – ‘beast of burden’

LAHORE – Citizens expressed anger over Pakistan cricket team’s defeat at the hands of New Zealand. A wave of anger-filled text messages gripped the cellular space when Pakistani team’s wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal dropped a few catches behind the stumps.
Citizens held a procession of donkeys in Sant Naggar, where they chanted slogans against the team, especially against Kamran Akmal and demanded he be called back.
Statuses on Facebook also kept speedily updating, as people charged on Akmal for his poor performance.
Akmal’s facebook page also became the hub of criticism. Citizens posted outrageous comments about him. Abdullah Muzaffar, a student, commented, “Wishing u a very happy birthday, dear friend Rose Taylor, I have dropped your catches as birthday gift, hope you will like that, from: 3rd class wicket keeper, Kamran Akmal.”
Protestors said Kamran had been tried and tested for several years and he had always failed to deliver on big occasions. They said he dropped catches in Australia and now he was planning on ‘making Pakistan sink’ in the World Cup. A video shared on Akmal’s facebook page shows Kamran’s replica dancing with joy, celebrating Rose Taylor’s birthday.
Citizens argued that Umer Akmal and Adnan Akmal were already very good dancers as Youtube videos prove that, therefore they better form a dancing team. An interesting tweet by a citizen was, “Behind every successful batsman, there is Kamran Akmal!” Hundreds who cracked jokes on Kamran Akmal used this tweet. A Pakistani columnist wrote at cricinfo.com, “He’s actually a ‘kali bakri’ Pakistanis are spiritual people – and superstitious. Kamran is there to condense all the evil energy directed at the team into one person.
He’s a tough little munchkin and he can take it. Thus the team can excel, free of all bad vibes, while Kamran gets the nation’s goat.” Akmal’s ‘miserable’ performance has become a favourite topic for the public on the streets and no one is willing to acknowledge his past services for the team. There were also people who said that this performance could be forgotten by a better display of cricket in coming matches. If the team learns a lesson from this defeat, then it might turn out to be a blessing in disguise.