Umar Akmal is a potential batting great

[hitman1980]

come on .. how can a pak be a gr8 .. and tht too for an Indian?? They r a crap country with crap ppl .. Their were similar reports when duminy, devillers etc burst on international scene .. They all r just good players and no a gr8 .. So will be this 21 year old crap .. who was 18-19 years just few days back ..

[Dhondy]

Shwetabh is just trying to make up for all the uncharitable comments on padosis on this website. Let's not forget that there were four tons from West Indian batsmen- one from Barath & Bravo, and two from Gayle, while none of the Aussie batsmen got a hundred. Why, even Deonaraine chipped in with an 82. If Akmal is a potential great, so are Barath and Deonarain. The reason you won't hear them described on those terms on this site is because there's no fun in praising somebody you haven't already knocked down.

[EnterTheVoid]

Potential great ? Potential itself doesn't translate into results, especially if you are surrounded by a cesspit of knifing under achievers who put personal records before team performance. Of all those potential greats who were over hyped by their dimwit supporters, how many went on to become true greats ? They will find some way to run his talent, in the same manner they helped the following p.i.$$ away everything that was going for them. 1. Afretard 2. Mohammad 'Malcolm Marshall' Sami 3. Umar Bull 4. Khatmal 5. Mis - bah - 5 runs

Some other things that will work against him .... 1. Playing alongside crappy Pak team 2. If he suceeds to any decent degree he will get the captaincy and then it will be a different ball game 3. Pakistan playing lot more ODI+T20 than test 4.And if everything else fails then there is the IPL

:hysterical:

[DomainK]

Well, he is good at this stage, no denying that. But he has to grow in very adverse conditions. In no time his seniors would be threatened by him and would be scheming against him (was he not pushed to play at no3 when everyone else refused to? And then he got out cheaply.) There will be group politics and sooner or later he will have to join a group and do some politics. He will have to say no to drugs in the dressing room. He will have to keep every captain, coach, PCB official and a lot of other bearded people happy. He will have to survive the captaincy changes. The only thing he won't have to do in order to survive in the Pakistani team if he can do all of the above is score runs.

[Dhondy]

He has a strong mind, Domaink, which is his biggest asset. Strong and uncluttered, just like his brother, who has made us suffer on a number of occasions. It's difficult to emphasise how important this trait is. If you want an example, you need look no further than the way Sehwag changed Indian cricket and banished all those technical virtuosos such as Devang Gandhi & co forever to oblivion. Akmal is no Sehwag, lacks the incandescent brilliance and the ability to build big innings with studied nonchalance of the latter, but he does have the same lack of fear that characterises Viru. Kamran Akmal has survived despite his atrocious WK-ing, despite all the machinations of Pakistani cricket. Umar will too. By the law of averages, as the 2Ys fade, as Inzi's giant shadow grows ever lighter, Pakistan are due a kind role of the dice. Odds are they have found a good one here. However, I'd go with Boss' assessment that he's more likely to average 40-45 than 50+ in the long run, although I'd be happy to be proven wrong. I'd say a Chris Gayle class of batsman, rather than Sehwag-Pietersen.

[EnterTheVoid]

Potential, he has, but one can cite hundreds of examples of 'potential greats' who were one hit wonders and faded into oblivion. Enough is known about the mentality of these flip flopping jokers to know Jr's biggest threat is from within. A real pity since it would have been wonderful to see him blossom into somebody meaningful

[Dhondy]

Saimuddin in raptures over a 60-odd. Oh boy, this is desperation. "Old warrior reignites..".dear Lord! Our tailenders like Bhajji et al score those kind of runs consistently. http://www.cricinfo.com/ausvpak09/content/current/story/441553.html Somebody needs a hug and a shoulder to cry on. Man!!

[Show_stopper]

^ Actually he just got a 51. Even Bhajji scored 2 50's when we toured Aus:haha: Anyway this is the problem with Pak cricket..the rest of the team is so frickin poor that any par performances(in some cases below par) from an individual are made to look like lifetime achievements!! Even hauritz got a 75 on this wicket..that should tell you all there is to tell.

[Macj]

Hes a potential 'many things' but just watch as the PCB stifle and destroy his career only to resurrect it in 10 years time.

[akshayxyz]

Boss, if you have time can you pull up a list of batsmen who started with a 50+ avg (min 6-7 tests with that avg) & show us where they ended up in their careers ? Something like Batsman, country, Avg for the initial cutoff, final avg would do.

One example - Vinod Kambli debut year 1993 (two 200s, two 100s) 7 8 1 793 227 113.28 4 1 0 89 3 and next two years. year 1994 7 11 0 236 82 21.45 0 2 3 30 3 year 1995 3 2 0 55 28 27.50 0 0 0 5 0 Yes, he is one odd example for his attitude and definitely more talented than many 'starter' greats.

[vvvslaxman]

^ Actually he just got a 51. Even Bhajji scored 2 50's when we toured Aus:haha: Anyway this is the problem with Pak cricket..the rest of the team is so frickin poor that any par performances(in some cases below par) from an individual are made to look like lifetime achievements!! Even hauritz got a 75 on this wicket..that should tell you all there is to tell.

My thoughts as well. If you look at recently even Dale Steyn made 76 runs. Bhajji made a couple of 50s. RP singh made 35 for heavensake against a much superior Australian attack on a much quicker pitch. Kumble made 87 i think.

[The Outsider]

My observations are not based on the numbers he has racked up - I am aware of many batsmen who have had glittering starts to their careers and fizzled out. It's the time he has while playing or the manner in which he is able to go through periods of defence punctuated by attack, the way he picks up the length so quickly, and is completely unfazed by the situation and reputations of the opponent. And it's also not a statement that he will definitely become the batsman of the next decade. But he has got all the ingredients to become one of the major batting forces for the coming 10-12 years. Of course, a lot will depend on how he copes with success. Also, as Bumper has mentioned the role his team and PCB play in this. It's entirely possible that he gets left out after a couple of poor series or ruins his career through the internal wranglings in the team. I feel he is going to score a more than a handy century during this tour itself. Bossbhai, the playing away all the time might not give him the raw numbers but can work the other way and make him a more complete batsman. Within his first international year he would have played tests in NZ, Australia, and England, none of them easy places to bat on for someone in his first year of cricket. And no Dhondy, this is not a make up posts for uncharitable comments on Pakistanis:D

[sandeep]

aggressive mindset, can play shots, looks to counterattack etc etc - reminiscent of Manoj Tiwary's press before his unlucky debut and injury issues... Its all relative - if you are in NZ even a McIntosh can get a bunch of test caps....

[DomainK]

He has a strong mind, Domaink, which is his biggest asset. Strong and uncluttered, just like his brother, who has made us suffer on a number of occasions. It's difficult to emphasise how important this trait is. If you want an example, you need look no further than the way Sehwag changed Indian cricket and banished all those technical virtuosos such as Devang Gandhi & co forever to oblivion. Akmal is no Sehwag, lacks the incandescent brilliance and the ability to build big innings with studied nonchalance of the latter, but he does have the same lack of fear that characterises Viru. Kamran Akmal has survived despite his atrocious WK-ing, despite all the machinations of Pakistani cricket. Umar will too. By the law of averages, as the 2Ys fade, as Inzi's giant shadow grows ever lighter, Pakistan are due a kind role of the dice. Odds are they have found a good one here. However, I'd go with Boss' assessment that he's more likely to average 40-45 than 50+ in the long run, although I'd be happy to be proven wrong. I'd say a Chris Gayle class of batsman, rather than Sehwag-Pietersen.

My observations are not based on the numbers he has racked up - I am aware of many batsmen who have had glittering starts to their careers and fizzled out. It's the time he has while playing or the manner in which he is able to go through periods of defence punctuated by attack, the way he picks up the length so quickly, and is completely unfazed by the situation and reputations of the opponent. And it's also not a statement that he will definitely become the batsman of the next decade. But he has got all the ingredients to become one of the major batting forces for the coming 10-12 years. Of course, a lot will depend on how he copes with success. Also, as Bumper has mentioned the role his team and PCB play in this. It's entirely possible that he gets left out after a couple of poor series or ruins his career through the internal wranglings in the team. I feel he is going to score a more than a handy century during this tour itself. Bossbhai, the playing away all the time might not give him the raw numbers but can work the other way and make him a more complete batsman. Within his first international year he would have played tests in NZ, Australia, and England, none of them easy places to bat on for someone in his first year of cricket. And no Dhondy, this is not a make up posts for uncharitable comments on Pakistanis:D

I agree with you. He has a very good temperament and that's what counts the most at this level. That's what separates a good batsman from an ordinary one. At this point of time, he is looking great and I hope he does well in future, in spite of the difficulties he is bound to face.

[OriginalCopy]

I agree with U Akmal being a potential star. He seems to be an agreessive batsman with many shots in his repertoire, and he has performed better than his country mates on the same pitches, some of whom are already stars in their own rights.

[davidcooper]

My observations are not based on the numbers he has racked up - I am aware of many batsmen who have had glittering starts to their careers and fizzled out. It's the time he has while playing or the manner in which he is able to go through periods of defence punctuated by attack, the way he picks up the length so quickly, and is completely unfazed by the situation and reputations of the opponent. And it's also not a statement that he will definitely become the batsman of the next decade. But he has got all the ingredients to become one of the major batting forces for the coming 10-12 years. Of course, a lot will depend on how he copes with success. Also, as Bumper has mentioned the role his team and PCB play in this. It's entirely possible that he gets left out after a couple of poor series or ruins his career through the internal wranglings in the team. I feel he is going to score a more than a handy century during this tour itself. Bossbhai, the playing away all the time might not give him the raw numbers but can work the other way and make him a more complete batsman. Within his first international year he would have played tests in NZ, Australia, and England, none of them easy places to bat on for someone in his first year of cricket. And no Dhondy, this is not a make up posts for uncharitable comments on Pakistanis:D

no, actually he does not have a lot of time and most of his shots are hurried, for me a sign he may be an okay batsman but nowhere in the class of SRT/sehwag/richards etc :giggle:

[DomainK]

no' date=' actually he does not have a lot of time and most of his shots are hurried, for me a sign he may be an okay batsman but nowhere in the class of SRT/sehwag/richards etc :giggle:[/size']

Oh, he is light years away from anyone of those three. He is a good prospect and that's all he is as of now.

[jf1gp_1]

If akmal were an Indian would you have wanted him in Indian side, my answer is Yes (based on whatever little i have seen of him) now will he do justice to his talent your guess is as good as mine but for now i think he is a wonderful find. For some strange reason he reminds me of sidhu

[DomainK]

If akmal were an Indian would you have wanted him in Indian side' date=' my answer is Yes (based on whatever little i have seen of him) now will he do justice to his talent your guess is as good as mine but for now i think he is a wonderful find. For some strange reason he reminds me of sidhu[/quote'] And who would he replace if he was an Indian?

[afridi6666]

And who would he replace if he was an Indian?

people say he has a good temperament, but the dismissal made me angry, mainly because i had to watch misbah shoulder his arms for everything.. not related to the thread, but misbahs best performance for 2 yrs vs india...