Umar Akmal returns to club cricket after serving his 18-month ban

Pakistan’s batter Umar Akmal has returned to club cricket after receiving a green signal from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He managed to score just five runs before walking back to the pavilion. Earlier, he was allowed to resume the club cricket activities as part of his rehabilitation process. Umar had expressed the guilt, attended an anti-corruption lecture, and participated in a Q&A session conducted by the Security and Anti-Corruption Department in the process that had been completed so far as per the PCB.

In April 2020, Akmal was handed a three-year ban after the PCB’s Disciplinary Panel had found him guilty of two breaches of Article 2.4.4 of the PCB Anti-Corruption Code. However, after Akmal’s appeal, the period of the ban was brought down to 18 months. The right-handed batter thus stated that he is now keen on looking into the future and performing well.

“I want to move forward now. I will try to give my best performances in domestic cricket now that I have been granted permission to play again. Being selected in the side depends on the selectors. My job is to perform well,” Akmal said as reported by Cricket Pakistan.

I am grateful to the PCB for giving me the permission to play cricket: Umar Akmal

The batter was banned after having failed to report approaches related to fixing just before the start of the Pakistan Super League’s fifth edition. Akmal had, however, come forward and apologized for not reporting the corrupt approaches in the year 2020. He had also admitted that the entire period has been very difficult for him.

Akmal now expressed his gratefulness to the Pakistan Cricket Board for allowing him to play cricket. He also asserted that his focus now is entirely on cricket and that he has been working on his fitness and would strive hard to further improve it.

“I am grateful to the PCB for giving me the permission to play cricket. My entire focus is now on playing cricket. I will try to let go of the past and look forward to the future. I have been working on my fitness throughout the testing ordeal. I am completely fit and will be looking to improve my match fitness as well,” he added.