Umar Akmal, the Pakistan batsman, just like his fellow teammates, is no stranger to making witty comments which only draws ferocious reaction from the public. During a post-match presentation after the Pakistan Super League (PSL) clash between Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United, in which Akmal played a match-winning knock (62 off 42), the right-handed batsman replied after being compared with Virat Kohli, and although the point was valid to some extent, his statements were not easy to digest.
For the record, both Umar Akmal and Virat Kohli kicked-off their respective careers around the 2008 U-19 World Cup and almost after a decade, comparisons between the two have been drawn on many such occasions. While Kohli has answered such question without saying much but hinting everything, Umar Akmal has found it hard to tackle them.
However, when one looks at the stats of both these players since their debut, there is an obvious difference. While Akmal has scored 3,044 runs in 116 ODIs that he has played with a modest average of 34.59 Virat Kohli on the other hand, has 7,775 ODI runs under his belt from 179 games, including 27 tons (Akmal has just two).
Coming to T20Is, where the actual comparison has been triggered by Cricket pundits on several occasions, Umar has 1690 runs under his belt in 82 games including eight half-centuries and Kohli has made 1709 runs including 16 fifties in 48.
However, both these players are capable of changing their gears as per the demand of the situation and have been regarded as one of the most dependable players for their respective teams.
Furthermore, when a comparison between two stark personalities having a huge statistical difference, happens, the lesser tends to get irked by it. However, Cricket being a Gentleman’s game, players have to tackle such situations with maturity and should give the respect their colleagues deserve.
But that was not the case with Umar Akmal. Here is what he said after being compared with Virat Kohli during the post-match presentation.
“Look, you know more than me. When people compare me with Kohli, it’s not fair.”
“It’s a matter of batting positions,” quipped Akmal. “Since his (Kohli) debut, he is batting at No. 3 and I have been playing at No. 6. Let me play at 3 and Kohli at 6, then compare me to him.”
“Compare him with Babar Azam, who is doing well at 3. He is in great form, so you can compare him with Babar.”
https://twitter.com/taimoorz1/status/834116229010964482
Like I said earlier, Umar has a point, but challenging a player like Virat Kohli publically is not the right thing to do. Rather, he should have accepted the challenge and answered in a more competitively digestible way possible.
However, Twitter has a tendency of ripping apart the ones with ‘Foot in Mouth’ disease and while Virat Kohli fans must be enjoying this, Umar Akmal must be having it the other way around.
it doesn't even make any sense asking such question by umar akmal..useless😈
— No_Mercy!🕵️♂️ (@RajaWaqarYouni3) February 22, 2017
The reality
Umar akmal h0ld the rec0rd of m0st duck in t,2o , n0w he reached 24 ducks m0st by a batsman
— عجيب🦕 (@AjeebullahShar) February 13, 2017
Insults
#IfIwereTrump I'll ban Umar akmal and make him do mujra. 😂 https://t.co/z0T0VMdUA3
— 🌚 (@Ragingneurotic) February 13, 2017
Its time for umar akmal to switch to his old career. #PSL2017 #lahoreqalandars pic.twitter.com/WL1SKmQ70R
— Usman (@Ozman) February 13, 2017
https://twitter.com/factualsnews/status/834324583624953856
Two min silence for @Umar96Akmal #selftroller pic.twitter.com/gwhM85aV5d
— Akash 🇮🇳 (@ImAkashNeil) February 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/HedzCricket/status/831232209428307968
when d same question was asked from Ahmad Shehzad he said he was not given the confidence as has been given to kohli
— sjjdjfojahgshdjkckavhdhkaoqkhdyvevvsjaichahgqvbqjc (@MustafaRants) February 21, 2017
Those saying that Umar Akmal is same as Kohli are the same people who say that Pakistan and India are both equal victims of terror.
— Arnab Ray (@greatbong) February 22, 2017
Imagine if Umar Akmal stayed not out yesterday's game, he would have done a drop ball celebration to pay tribute to the Akmal family.
— Imy (@PakCricket_) February 21, 2017
20 odd years back
Umar Akmal mother: Beta number aik ah raha ya 2?
UAkmal: Number 3
— Ahsan (@ahsanzawar) February 22, 2017
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