Umar Akmal to play league cricket in California amidst uncertainty over international career

Pakistan middle-order batter Umar Akmal has signed a contract with Northern California Cricket Association. He is currently playing for California Zalmi in the Northern California Cricket Association Premier C league and scored a golden duck in his first match. Umar Akmal a few days back took to Twitter to announce his wish of playing cricket in the USA. In the post shared, the Pakistani middle-order batter also revealed he is visiting the country to seek better opportunities.

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If certain reports are to be believed, then Akmal has said goodbye to his ambitions of representing Pakistan in international cricket. The right-hand batter last donned the green jersey way back in 2019 against Sri Lanka in a T20I match in Lahore. After that, he was found guilty of breaching the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) anti-corruption code. Akmal completed his ban and was back playing domestic cricket.

According to reports in ESPN Cricinfo, his comeback to the team was not well received and his subsequent selection in the playing XI remained under doubt. 

Akmal was also not involved in any of the team’s A matches and was instead asked to play for the second XI team. He is also not part of Pakistan’s ongoing National T20 Cup. Akmal’s scores for his team Central Punjab second XI were also not impressive in the five matches that he played and that might have prompted him to seek opportunities in the USA. Although there is not an official announcement from Akmal that whether he will return to play the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy on October 20, his future remains uncertain in Pakistan.