Pak tour of Zim 2011: Umar Akmal eyes big innings in Zimbabwe

Tags: Pakistan, Umar Akmal, Zimbabwe, Pak tour of Zim 2011

Published on: Jul 10, 2011

Explosive young batsman Umar Akmal believes that he has overcome his weak points in his batting during the fast track camp and is now ready to play longer and more responsible innings for Pakistan in the future.

Explosive young batsman Umar Akmal believes that he has overcome his weak points in his batting during the fast track camp and is now ready to play longer and more responsible innings for Pakistan in the future.

"The coaching we have got in the camp has helped a lot and I am confident that on our next assignment in Zimbabwe I will play big innings to restore confidence of everyone in my batting," Umar said.

The Pakistan cricket Board has invited 12 batsman and 10 fast bowlers for the three weeks camp being supervised by chief selector, Mohsin Khan and former Test players, Ijaz Ahmed and Sarfaraz Nawaz.

Ijaz who has worked with the national team as assistant coach until recently has adopted a unique method to coach the batsman.

The former player told the media he believes that players who don't perform properly need to warm the bench so that they 'realise the importance of building an innings'.

"We have batsmen with great potential but their technique requires attention. We are training them on how to build their innings," Ijaz said.

He said that Pakistan batsman despite having immense potential are often found throwing their wickets away to poor shot selection, making the same mistakes repeatedly.

Ijaz admitted that on several occasions Pakistan failed to capitalise in situations where they could have easily won matches for their team. "When a batsman makes mistakes he should be promptly told by the team management," said Ijaz.

"But if he still repeats the same mistakes he should be forced to sit out for a match or two. We faced similar punishments during our time. We were forced to sit out only because of poor shot selection.

"So it's very important for the batsmen to realise their responsibility and not throw away their wickets in times of dire need," Ijaz added.

Mohsin Khan said that Pakistan had immense talent and just needed guidance in order to become the world's best. "I've played cricket all over the world," Mohsin told reporters.

"I've noticed three countries - Pakistan, West Indies and Sri Lanka - having immense talent. But raw talent and shaping it to use accordingly in different situation are two different things and this is what the ongoing camp is all about."

The board has invited the country's top performers in domestic cricket and those who are fringe selections but has surprisingly ignored many players who have been doing well in recent times including discarded Test players, Faisal Iqbal and Asim Kamal.

The board even ignored Ramiz Raja junior the top scorer in the last domestic season and he was a late inclusion in the fast track camp for the batsman after earlier he was placed in the camp for spinners and all-rounders.

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