"The Indian crowd went completely silent" - Umar Akmal recalls his batting exploits in 2011 World Cup semi-final
Umar Akmal was part of Pakistan's playing XI for their semi-final encounter against India in the 2011 World Cup in Mohali. The swashbuckling batter recently recalled how he managed to silence the Indian crowd with his boundaries.
The keeper-batter revealed that there was a pin-drop silence in the stadium when he got going. Akmal mentioned that he could only hear the sound of his and Wahab Riaz's families.
Speaking on Daniyal Sheikh's YouTube channel, Umar Akmal said (37:20):
"We were playing in a jam-packed stadium. The Indian crowd went completely silent when I started hitting boundaries. It seemed as if there was nobody in the ground. My family was present at the venue, and the only other family was Wahab Riaz's. I could only hear the sound of those 12 people when I was hitting. I was completely disheartened after we lost that match."
Notably, Pakistan required 261 runs to win the semi-final against India. They were bundled out for 231, suffering a heartbreaking 29-run loss. Umar Akmal scored 29 runs off 24 deliveries in the knockout fixture.
Akmal mentioned that he regrets not being able to win the 2011 World Cup. The 33-year-old also suggested that he would have convinced skipper Shahid Afridi to add Shoaib Akhtar in the playing XI had the Men in Green qualified for the final. He added (39:45):
"Sri Lanka had already qualified for the final. Some of their main players were injured and unavailable. So, for us, the match against India was the final. We knew that we could easily beat Sri Lanka. I wanted to win the World Cup for Shoaib Akhtar. I would have been very happy if we won the final and lifted Shoaib Akhtar on our shoulders. I would have requested Shahid Afridi to play Shoaib bhai in the final."
India beat Sri Lanka in the final by six wickets at the Wankhde Stadium in Mumbai to lift the coveted trophy. Gautam Gambhir (97) and MS Dhoni (91*) shone with the bat as the side successfully chased down the 275-run target in 48.2 overs.
"It was a big motivation" - Umar Akmal on his father's desire to see his two sons play for Pakistan together
Umar Akmal also spoke about how his father wanted to see his two sons represent Pakistan together. This came on the heels of Irfan and Yusuf Pathan represent India in the 2009 T20 World Cup
Akmal stated that it motivated him to do well and make it to the national side so that he could feature alongside his brother Kamran Akmal. In the same video, the veteran batter said (2:39):
"Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan played in the T20 World Cup for India in 2009. I was watching the match with my father, who expressed his desire to see his two sons represent Pakistan together. I kept that in mind, and it was a big motivation for me."
Umar Akmal's last appearance in international cricket was in a T20I match against Sri Lanka in October 2019.
He was banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for three years in 2020 for not reporting spot-fixing offers during the Pakistan Super League (PSL).