‘Does not want my son to become a cricketer,’ says Umar Akmal

KARACHI: Pakistan Test batter Umar Akmal shared that he does not want his son to become a cricketer due to the alleged injustice his family faced in the past.

In a video, making rounds on social media, the middle-order batter, looking visibly emotional, was training in the nets with his son, who according to him, aspires to become a cricketer.

But, Akmal, who represented Pakistan in 16 Tests, 121 ODIs and 84 T20Is, shared that he does not want him to follow in his footsteps but will support him in chasing his dreams.

“He is my son and he is very passionate about cricket but if I share my honest opinion; I don’t want him to play cricket as you know it is Pakistan,” said Akmal.

“What happened with our family, I don’t the same to happen with my son. Everybody knows about that so I will not explain it further.

“But since it is his passion, I would go all out to support him but at the same time, I made him promise me that his first priority should remain his studies then cricket.”

The right-handed batter then went on to request his fans to pray for his son’s success.

“Kindly pray for him to succeed and if the Pakistan Cricket Board wants then he can play,” Akmal concluded.

For the unversed, Umar Akmal’s last appearance for Pakistan came in 2019 during a three-match home series against Sri Lanka.