Umar Akmal was frustrating to work with: Mickey Arthur

Mickey Arthur, the former Pakistan head coach, said that Umar Akmal wasn’t an easy person to get along with. Akmal has gotten himself into all sorts of controversies in the last few years and it hasn’t helped his career for the Men in Green. Once deemed as the next big thing, Umar has made occasional comebacks into the national setup, but couldn’t hold on to his spot.

The 51-year-old Arthur reckons that time has run out for the 29-year-old. Arthur felt that the Lahore-born Akmal didn’t get proper guidance at the start of his career owing to which his journey went downhill. However, Arthur called him a ‘likeable enough bloke’.

Don’t think Umar Akmal got the right messages, says Arthur

“It’s definitely too late for him [Umar Akmal] now. It’s sad because he is a likeable enough bloke but what he needed was a real firm hand at the start of his career to guide him properly,” Arthur was quoted as saying in his recent interview with the Pinch Hitter magazine.

“I don’t think he got the right messages earlier in his career because if he had, he wouldn’t have gone down the route he has chosen to. He was frustrating to work with,” Arthur said.

Akmal is yet to play competitive cricket in 2020. He was a part of Pakistan’s T20I series against Sri Lanka in October 2019, but lost his place. He was also suspended from playing for Quetta Gladiators in the 2020 edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Arthur also entered into an altercation with veteran fast bowler Wahab Riaz. Arthur felt that the left-arm fast bowler wasn’t living up to his stupendous potential because of which he was left out.

“I had one notable spat with Wahab Riaz, and we spoke openly about it as well. I felt Wahab had so much ability and potential and at the point we left him out of the side, he wasn’t just fulfilling that potential,” the South African added.

Moreover, Arthur had words of praises for Babar Azam, who he reckons is among the top five batsmen in the world. Arthur said that Azam has been able to play to his potential across formats.