Umar Akmal pulls out the dab, sends Twitter into meltdown

Middle-order batsman's imitation of Brathwaite prompted a hilarious reaction from Pakistani fans

Pakistan middle-order batsman Umar Akmal showed off his antics during the second T20I against West Indies in UAE and Twitter had a meltdown.

The Lahore-born has come a long way since his last appearance in the World T20 tournament, after which he was dropped due to disciplinary reasons alongside opening batsman Ahmad Shahzad. However, the 26-year-old received another international cap this month when he was selected for Pakistan’s ongoing T20I series against the West Indies. Previously, he reassured the national selection committee that he would work on his attitude both on and off the field.



Nevertheless, during last night’s match, when West Indies captain Carlos Braithwaite performed a dab dance to celebrate Babar Azam’s wicket, Umar took it to heart.

In the subsequent innings, Umar took three catches in total, and performed one dab after each catch.

OUT! Hasan Ali gets another big one, as @Umar96Akmal shows there is another @paulpogba out therehttps://t.co/dnYMzaA1Gl #PAKvWI pic.twitter.com/IjvAsrartd

— Tribune Sports (@ETribuneSports) September 24, 2016

Nonetheless, Twitterati entertained us all with comments on the youngest Akmal’s showmanship.

Umar Akmal's dab was more embarrassing than his night out in hyderabad.

— Shumail (@Shumyl) September 24, 2016

I truly envy Umar Akmal,the confidence with which he wears green lipstick,does dance in a white suit & pull off dabs is truly commendable

— Osama. (@ashaqeens) September 24, 2016

Man of the match should be given to umar akmal fir his celebration

— AR (@cd_70_) September 25, 2016

Someone tells me what's bad in doing dab? 😁 😁 it's just a happy celebration started by Carlos Braithwaite . Umar akmal well done 😁 😝

— Abubakar (@AbubakarA56) September 25, 2016

https://twitter.com/UkashaSohail/status/779890897135755264

I think Umar Akmal is just smelling his armpits

— Qasim Zaidi (@QasimZaidi_) September 24, 2016

tfw you've wasted most of your career but are always 🔥🔥🔥 when it comes to providing memes. https://t.co/VaATqSApVH

— Ahmer Naqvi (@karachikhatmal) September 24, 2016

When mom walks into your room at 1 am and you have 0.1 sec to pretend sleep in whatever position possible pic.twitter.com/YG2Gt4vgZZ

— Qasim Farooq (@MangoLassC) September 24, 2016

https://twitter.com/ahm7er/status/779768970471669760



Few Twitter users pointed out that the 26-year-old might have copied French midfielder Paul Pogba who popularised the dab in European football.

@Umar96Akmal -
He dabs, he has funky hairstyles & he costs £89 not £89million.@paulpogba beware!!#PogbAkmalDab 😎 pic.twitter.com/C7HOHmdd6q

— Jimmy N.T. (@nadeemjimmy) September 25, 2016

Pogba
Brathwaite
Umar Akmal pic.twitter.com/AYsHQxubKM

— Fahim Farooq (@fahim_parekh) September 24, 2016

https://twitter.com/azeem_tarik/status/779765923083382784

Dab team #mb459 #pogboom pic.twitter.com/EITRjlZ3gb

— Paul Pogba (@paulpogba) January 3, 2016

However, it is highly likely that Umar was just copying Braitwaite.

I'm sure umar akmal didn't even know he was doing a 'DAB' . He just copied braithwaite 😂 https://t.co/OqCQqQJUnD

— Ｗａｊａｈａｔ Ｐｅｒｖａｉｚ Ａｂｂａｓｉ♍ (@Mrwajahatsays) September 25, 2016