6 Takeaways From the Pakistan-Australia ODI Series

#4 The Curious Case of Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal once again failed to nail down his spot in the team

No current player in international cricket has wasted as much talent as Umar Akmal. He has been around for more than a decade but, in spite of undeniable ability, failed to make his place certain in the team.

Given another chance in this series, Akmal once again came up with underwhelming performances. There were a couple of promising innings from him in these matches which ended due to the growing pressure of required run-rate. But when all his five scores are taken together, it paints a picture of another wasted opportunity.

We saw the same old stuff from Akmal this time also. There were great strokes, brilliant timing, occasions when he looked likely to get a big score and the eventual dismissal putting an end to all hopes.

However, he may have just done enough to keep himself in contention. Pakistani selectors have a strange way of going about their business. They may, once again, decide to trust his talent more than the outcomes. But with other names thrown into the mix, that is not certain.