Lahore Qalandars skipper Brendon McCullum has asked much derided batsman Umar Akmal to take a leaf out of his older brother Kamran‘s book to improve his performances.
Umar has had a forgettable campaign in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) for McCullum’s side, scoring only 57 runs in five innings before being dropped from the line-up.
On Friday, Kamran Akmal scored the first century of the 2018 edition of the PSL to power Peshawar Zalmi to a seven-wicket over the Lahore Qalandars.
The senior Akmal made 107 off just 61 deliveries and McCullum has advised Umar to follow his brother’s blueprint.
The Zalmi opener @KamiAkmal23 is now the only batsman with two 💯 in #HBLPSL#DilSeJaanLagaDe #LQvPZ pic.twitter.com/dHTLbpWGmG
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) March 16, 2018
“Based on his point of view, he has a lot of years in front of him, he can finish his career really strong. Today, he got a great blueprint of what he should do from his brother and I am sure he sat back and thought he could be in a situation like this in the future. But he has to make sure that he is performing to get those opportunities,” the former New Zealand skipper said.
27-year-old Umar was at one point poised to have a bright future with the Pakistan national team when he made his debut in 2009. However, inconsistent performances and a lack of application has seen the right-handed batsman fall out of favour.
His last outing in Pakistan colours came in January last year in an ODI against Australia where he had registered a 40-ball 46.
