Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal debuted for Pakistan back in 2002 and is a consistent run-getter in the country’s domestic circles. He is one from the factory of attacking keeper-batsmen who could bat in the middle as a floater but can also take the attack to the bowlers as an opener. Kamran’s gloves work might have been clumsy but his potential truly ended the debate post the Moin Khan-Rashid Latif era, back then. 

Post the 2003 World Cup, Kamran was the automatic choice to fill in as a keeper in the national side. However, it took three years for him to score his maiden international century. While batting at Number 8, he played a class innings against the arch-rivals India at Mohali. Kamran’s purple patch with the bat began after his century against Men in Blue as he scored seven international tons in the next 6 months.

However, post his purple patch of 2006, the keeper-batter form dipped horrendously. It continued during the tour of England, hence, he got dropped from the national team for the Asia Cup of 2008. It wasn’t only his batting form that brought criticism on Kamran but his alarming glovework was an arguable factor too. After correcting his batting flaws, Kamran returned to the Pakistan team and was part of the title-winning team during the World T20 in 2009. 

The following year, the Pakistani faced a controversy Down Under. In the Sydney Test, the wicketkeeper dropped four catches and missed a runout that led to a notice from ICC for a suspicion of match-fixing, which was later upheld. 

His problematic work behind the stumps continued as Kamran’s keeping was on the radar during the 2011 WC where he dropped countless chances. He was later replaced as a keeper by Sarfaraz Ahmed and his younger brother Umar Akmal. His horrific outings during the 2014 world T20 meant Kamran getting dropped off the national team. 

The keeper-batsman went back to the grind of domestic cricket and regained a spot for him during the tour of West Indies in 2017. Kamran scored a total of 90 runs in a single ODI and four T20I matches, including two ducks, that again dropped him. Despite being off national selectors’ radar, Karman has been a consistent performer for his PSL franchise, Peshawar Zalmi. The keeper-batsman has been associated with the franchise since the inaugural season and has the second-highest run-getter in the league.

(As of May 2021)