New twist to Kamran Akmal case

[sonicboom]

New twist to Kamran Akmal case


PALLEKELE: The Kamran Akmal case is getting more and more curious. Just after the Pakistan wicketkeeper's horrendous show on Tuesday night in a World Cup Group A game against New Zealand here, Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said that Kamran's brother Umar, in the team as a batsman, would be considered as an option behind the stumps. On Wednesday, Umar did keep the wickets for a while. On Thursday, however, it emerged that he had hurt the index finger of his right hand. Pakistan manager Intikhab Alam, though, confirmed that there was no serious damage to it.

"He got injured on his right index finger when he was fielding yesterday (Thursday). There is no swelling at all. He is perfectly all right. We just want to make sure that everything is okay, that's why I sent him to get an X-ray and a scan too. It's cleared and he is okay. We are resting him on precautionary measures,'' Alam said. It may be recalled that Umar created some fuss last year when he reportedly refused to play the third Test at Hobart after his brother was dropped for a poor show behind the stumps during the second Test at Sydney, which Pakistan lost from a winning position.

While this could be a genuine mishap, what it meant was Kamran keeping the stumps during Pakistan's training on Friday, while Umar sat on the sidelines. The under-fire wicket-keeper, it must be said, is receiving tremendous support from his teammates, a new, but heartening feature of the Pakistani side now. After coach Waqar Younis and Shahid Afridi's kind words, it was Misbah-ul-Haq's turn to offer words of consolation.

Cricket World Cup: New twist to Kamran Akmal case