Batsman Umar Akmal on Wednesday launches a verbal attack on Mickey Arthur, saying that the national side coach had verbally abused him in front of Chief Selector Inzamamul Haq.
Akmal further claimed that Arthur is also abusive towards other players. He also said that senior players did not stop the coach when he was being verbally abused and added that the coach had told him to play club-level cricket instead of coming to the academy.
The batsman further said that he was dropped from the team after an unjustified warning. He also said that he wants to inform the Pakistan Cricket Board regarding the behaviour of the coaching staff.
Akmal was dropped from the Pakistan squad for the Champions Trophy in Birmingham 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 apologised to his fans, saying he was determined to come back stronger than ever and promised to remain committed to cricket.
Arthur refutes ‘allegations’
However, Mickey Arthur rubbished Akmal’s claims and said that the batsman was not telling the truth. The coach added that he had asked Akmal to improve upon his skills and attitude.
Akmal’s endless controversies
This is would not be the first time that Akmal has become a figure of controversy off the field.
In 2014, Akmal was detained at a local police station in Lahore following a spat with a traffic warden over breaking a traffic signal. The middle-order batsman also made headlines after a row with security personnel in a theatre auditorium in Faisalabad and also for being allegedly arrested from an event in Hyderabad.
