Pakistan’s middle-order batsman Umar Akmal has always received criticism for not being able to convert his huge potential into match-winning performances. When asked why he has not attained the same heights as that by Virat Kohli, Umar was quoted saying by Wisden India, Look, you know more than me. When people compare me with Kohli, it’s not fair. It’s a matter of batting positions.
“Since his (Kohli) debut, he is batting at No. 3 and I have been playing at No. 6. Let me play at 3 and Kohli at 6, then compare me with him.
“Compare him with Babar Azam, who is doing well at 3. He is in great form, so you can compare him with Babar.”
“I never wailed over my number,” he further insisted. “I do everything for my team. Whatever cricket I have played, it’s for the team and the number comes later. But when people compare me with Kohli, only then do I point out that I bat in the lower middle order.”
Umar Akmal has scored 3044 runs in 116 One-Day Internationals with only two hundreds, while India’s skipper Virat Kohli is miles ahead with 27 hundreds in 179 matches. In T20Is, Umar has scored 1690 runs in 82 games with eight half-centuries while Kohli has played 1709 with 16 fifties in 48 T20Is.
