Umar Akmal trolled for comparing himself to Virat Kohli
Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal is no stranger to making outlandish comments which only draws ire of the public. The right-handed batsman was at it again during the post-match conference after his match-winning performance in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) clash between Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United.
Akmal was replying to a question in which a comparison between him and Indian captain Virat Kohli was made, to which he said that there can be no comparisons between the two as he bats at number 6 and Kohli walks in at number 3.
"When people compare me to Kohli, it's a matter of number. Since Kohli's debut he is batting at number three and I have been batting at number six. Let me play at number three slot and him on six, then compare me with him. I never wailed over my number. I do everything for my team.
“Whatever cricket I have played, it's for the team and the number comes later. But when people compare me with Kohli, only then do I point out that I bat in the lower middle order,” Akmal said during the conference.
This comment was enough to start a Twitter backlash as people questioned the claims and also went after him for not respecting the calibre of the Indian captain.
This comment was not all accepted by cricket fans all over and their sarcasm could be understood.
According to stats:
The junior Akmal has scored 3044 runs in 116 One-Day Internationals with only two hundreds while Kohli has already notched up 27 hundreds in 179 matches. In terms of T20Is, Umar has scored 1690 runs in 82 games with eight half-centuries while Kohli has scored 1709 runs with 16 fifties in 48 T20Is.
The right-hander does have a history of cribbing about his batting position. Last year during the World T20s he approached former Pakistan captain Imran Khan and complained to him about the team management and that he deserved to bat higher up in the order. This gesture did not go down well with the Team management as the then coach Waqar Younis slammed this move.
Younis even urged the cricket authorities to drop Umar Akmal from the Pakistan team.
Watch: Akmal talking to Imran Khan