Umar Akmal involved in a ugly spat with traffic police in Pakistan

What’s the story?

Pakistan’s swashbuckling batsman Umar Akmal on Thursday got involved in a heated argument with the police in Lahore over a traffic violation.

The cricketer was allegedly stopped from driving a car having a personalized number plate, deemed illegal by customs and excise officials. Akmal said he had problems with the tone of the language of the policemen which led to the spat.

"Police stopped me and used foul language and they told me I would have to remove the number plate myself," Akmal was quoted by NDTV.

In case you did not know

Umar Akmal is a regular for the Pakistan cricket team and has so far scored 3044 runs in 116 One-day Internationals and 1690 runs from 82 T20 internationals.

He first came into the international arena in 2009 when he made his debut against Sri Lanka in an ODI in Dambulla. Akmal is known to be an explosive batsman but in recent times his form has somewhat deserted him.

He had just flown into his hometown after his Lahore Qalandars team was knocked out of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) being presently staged in the UAE.

The heart of the matter

Umar Akmal was allegedly driving his vehicle in Lahore when he was stopped by traffic police. Akmal did not like the way the officers spoke to him and therefore got himself in a heated exchange with them.

Akmal alleged that the policemen even used foul language and asked him to remove the personalized number plate all by himself.

Similar instances from the past

This is not the first time that Akmal has landed in a soup like this. In February 2014 he was taken to jail for hitting a traffic warden who had stopped him for breaking a traffic signal.

In the same year, he allegedly broke into a fight with a gatekeeper at the Gaddafi stadium who denied him an entry in his car.

Akmal was also dropped from Pakistan's one-day squad after the World Cup 2015 in the words of the then coach Waqar Younis, who labeled him as an undisciplined and a selfish player.

Sportskeeda’s take

Akmal might be a star on the pitch for Pakistan but these off-field issues have always been a hindrance in his path of success. Akmal should ideally get a hold of his temper and do all his talking through the willow that he holds.