LAHORE/DUBAI – International superstar batsman Umar Akmal who plays for Lahore Qalandars will not be travelling to Pakistan during the elimination matches of the tournament, or any time in the near future, citing security reasons.
Akmal, who hails from Lahore, and had originally announced that he would visit Pakistan also cited family and personal reasons for his decision to back out.
Talking to exclusively to The Dependent, Umar Akmal revealed all his reasons that had forced him to reconsider his decision to travel to Lahore.
“It pains me to reveal this to you, and I’m sure it hurts the trillions of my fans even more, but I will not be able to travel to Pakistan this week, month, year and perhaps the decade,” he told The Dependent, maintaining the reasons were ‘security’, ‘personal’ and ‘family’.
“Personal because I consulted myself and have personally made the decision,” he said. “Family because my elder brother is actually making it worse for me by singlehandedly taking his own franchise to the playoffs in Pakistan – it’s easier when we’re both having troubles.”
“And finally, the security reasons are obvious. I feel very secure about my future as the most talented young cricketer – in this part of the world.”