Umar Akmal hopes to stage Test comeback

KARACHI: Discarded Test cricketer Umar Akmal is determined to impress in Test cricket if he gets a chance.

“If I am given chance again, I will do my best,” Umar told a news conference here at National Stadium. The 29-year-old on Sunday hit a double century to enable Central Punjab to take a massive 421-run lead against Northern in the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (first-class). This was Umar’s second first-class double century.

“You know I am playing four-day cricket and trying to put in my best. And thanks God success embraces my team. All the players have played really well in the entire season,” said Umar, who played his last Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in September 2011.

Interestingly, Umar did not remember that he played his last Test against Zimbabwe. In reply to a question from a reporter, Umar said he guessed he had played his last Test against the West Indies.

To a query, Umar said that selection is the job of the selectors and his is to score runs. “My job is to perform and InshaAllah I will stage a comeback to Test cricket,” said Umar, who made his Test debut in 2009 against New Zealand at Dunedin.

Umar said the new domestic cricket structure was good. “I think good cricket is being held. The cricketers selected for the first-class cricket have played well,” Umar said. In 16 Tests, Umar has scored 1003 runs at an average of 35.82, including one century and six fifties.