‘I feel as if I’m playing in my own country’ – Pakistan batter on playing in front of Indian crowd

Pakistan cricketer Umar Akmal last played in an international match in 2019. Eight games in all have been played by the 32-year-old in India. Despite not scoring many runs in India, Akmal recently admitted that the country has shown him a lot of love and respect.

He even went so far as to say that when he played in India, he felt at home. He most recently performed there in 2013. Additionally, it was India’s final bilateral white-ball series against Pakistan. Akmal was spotted talking nostalgically about the atmosphere while performing in India in an interview with a Pakistani journalist.

“I like playing in India and in Asia. I haven’t played a big series in Pakistan to date and only played in two T20Is in that also I got out for 0. Whenever I have played in India, I feel as if I’m playing in my own country. The crowd in India respects both teams; Indian fans love Pakistani players and cheer for them too,” Umar Akmal recalled.

Umar Akmal mentoring Quetta Gladiator in PSL 2023

On August 1, 2009, Umar Akmal made his ODI debut at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium against Sri Lanka. The wicketkeeper-batter continued to play 121 ODIs and acquired 3194 runs in total. In 16 Tests, he also participated, scoring 1003 runs. He played in 84 matches and 1690 runs in T20Is. In 2019, the 32-year-old faced Sri Lanka in his final international match.

Umar Akmal was placed in the spotlight early in his career due to his attractive and aggressive batting style. However, his lack of consistency and lack of self-control off the field hurt his career.

Now in the Pakistan Super League, Umar Akmal will serve as a player-mentor for the Quetta Gladiators (PSL). In the seventh season of Pakistan’s domestic T20 league, Akmal managed to score 101 runs for the team in five games. Quetta has decided to keep him for another PSL season despite the poor performance.

On February 13, Multan Sultan and Lahore Qalanders will square off in the opening match of the Pakistan Super League. On February 15, the Quetta Gladiators will play the Multan Sultans in their opening match of the season.