Controversial Umar Akmal severs ties with Pakistan; to play league cricket in USA

Akmal
had
recently
completed
his
ban
for
breaching
PCB’s
anti-corruption
code.
Espncricinfo
reported
that
the
31-year-old
has
signed
a
short-term
contract
with
Northern
Cricket
California
Association
and
is
open
to
exploring
a
long-term
future
which
will
sever
his
ties
with
Pakistan
cricket.

He
scored
0,
14,
7,
16
and
29
for
the
Central
Punjab
Second
XI
in
the
PCB
Cricket
Associations
T20
tournament
before
deciding
to
go
to
California.

Quaid-E-Azam
Trophy
is
scheduled
to
start
on
October
20
and
it
is
not
clear
if
he
will
come
back
from
to
play
in
the
country’s
premier
domestic
competition.

The
website
claimed
that
Akmal’s
comeback
wasn’t
well-received
in
the
circuit
and
he
was
not
selected
for
the
ongoing
National
T20
Cup.

“There
are
a
few
others
who
were
banned
with
bigger
charges
but
given
unprecedented
support
to
make
a
comeback.
The
system
was
never
fair
to
Umar.
There
were
blatant
compromises
made
to
select
a
few
players
with
poor
fitness,
but
the
benchmark
was
made
tighter
for
him
to
make
sure
keep
him
out,”
said
a
family
member.

Akmal
has
been
at
the
centre
of
controversy
many
times
in
his
career
but
he
got
his
18-month
ban
for
breaching
PCB’s
anti-corruption.

The
suspension
was
reduced
later
to
six-month
following
the
verdict
of
Court
of
Arbitration
for
Sports
(CAS).

Akmal
was
suspended
hours
before
his
PSL
team
Quetta
Gladiators
was
to
take
on
Islamabad
in
the
opening
match
of
the
2020
edition.
The
PCB
charged
him
for
two
breaches
of
Article
2.4.4
of
its
Anti-Corruption
Code
in
two
unrelated
incidents
in
February
this
year
ahead
of
the
PSL.

Akmal
is
the
younger
brother
of
former
Pakistan
wicketkeeper-batsman
Kamran
Akmal,
who
played
53
Tests,
58
T20s,
157
ODIs,
and
cousin
of
current
captain
Babar
Azam.

Akmal,
who
last
played
for
Pakistan
in
October
2020,
has
featured
in
16
Tests,
121
ODIs
and
84
T20s,
scoring
1,003,
3,194
and
1,690
runs
respectively.
Akmal,
who
promised
a
lot
after
making
a
hundred
in
New
Zealand
on
his
Test
debut,
failed
to
live
up
to
the
high
expectations
that
came
with
some
fine
performances
early
on
in
his
career.