Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal, who was born on 26 May 1990 in Lahore, is a cricketer and the youngest brother of Adnan Akmal and Kamran Akmal who are also cricketers, both wicket-keepers. He made his ODI debut on 1 August 2009 against Sri Lanka and made his Test debut against New Zealand on 23 November 2009. He is a right-handed batsman and a part-time spinner. Like his two brothers, Adnan and Kamran, Umar has kept wicket for the national team.

Considered a future asset for Pakistan cricket, Umar Akmal represented Pakistan in the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia. After his success at the U-19 level he earned himself a first class contract and played the 2007-08 season of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, representing the Sui Southern Gas team.  He is an aggressive style cricketer. In only his sixth first class match he smashed 248 off just 225 deliveries, including four sixes. He followed that up with an unbeaten 186 in his 8th first class match, off just 170 balls.

Umar Akmal came to prominence during the Australia A tour in June/July 2009. In the two Test matches he recorded scores of 54, 100*, 130, 0. In the ODI series that followed Umar continued his fine form with a century in the opening ODI encounter off just 68 deliveries. These performances made him gather considerable praise from the media who were there to witness him and calls began to grow about his inclusion in the ODI series for the main Pakistan side against Sri Lanka.

Umar Akmal made his Test debut against New Zealand at Dunedin on 23 November 2009. On the third day of his debut test, Umar hit 129 runs from 160 balls becoming only the second Pakistani to score a hundred on debut away from home after Fawad Alam. This feat also made him the first Pakistani batsman to score both his maiden Test and ODI century away from home, following his ODI century against Sri Lanka. The innings was noted as special due to Pakistan's tough position in the match and the hundred partnership which Umar was involved in alongside his elder brother Kamran. He followed up the century in the first innings with a fifty in the second innings.

In his second Test match Umar was moved up the order to the crucial spot of number 3, where he struggled initially but managed to counter-attack the hostile bowling with his natural flair, making 46 before he was undone by an in swinger by Daryl Tuffey. In the second innings he was moved down the order to his usual batting spot of number 5 as captain Mohammed Yousuf chose to bat at number 3, himself and Akmal looked his usual aggressive self throughout his innings of 52 which came off only 33 balls.

In his second career One Day International Umar scored his maiden ODI fifty. Umar followed up his maiden fifty by scoring a century in the very next match. For this match winning effort he was awarded his first career Man of the Match award. His form in Sri Lanka earned him a place in Pakistan's champion’s trophy squad. Umar played two good innings and his 41 not out against West Indies was a match winning knock and landed him his second career Man of the Match award.

His next big innings came in the semi-final against New Zealand, where he scored a brisk 55 in a losing effort, before he was wrongly given out by umpire Simon Taufel, who later apologized. Despite the fact that Umar Akmal is not a wicket-keeper he kept wicket for Pakistan temporarily in the third ODI against England in 2010 from the 27th over onwards because his elder brother Kamran was being diagnosed for an injury to his finger. Umar Akmal scored 71 runs from 52 balls in his debut World Cup match and was named Man of the Match.