Umar injures finger during training

Younger Akmal sits out practice session in Kandy.

KANDY:

Pakistan’s preparation for their key World Cup match against Zimbabwe received a minor jolt as Umar Akmal missed yesterday’s training after injuring his right index finger during a practice session on Thursday.

Umar, who took over wicket-keeping duties on Thursday as the team management looked to find solutions to Kamran’s under-performance behind the stumps, injured the finger during a fielding drill.

“It’s just a minor injury, there’s nothing to worry about and I’ll hopefully be fit for the match against Zimbabwe,” Umar told The Express Tribune.

Team manager Intikhab Alam, too, confirmed that the injury was minor and the younger Akmal stood a very good chance of being fully fit for Pakistan’s second match at the Pallekele stadium on March 14.

“He injured his finger during training on Thursday and there was a bit of swelling,” said Intikhab.

“However, we got the all-clear in the scans and hopefully he’ll be ready to take part in training very soon.”

Coincidentally, Umar faked a back injury following calls to drop Kamran after the Sydney Test debacle on Pakistan’s tour of Australia in 2009. As Kamran’s miseries grew behind the stumps against New Zealand on Tuesday when he missed two catches in three balls, captain Shahid Afridi confirmed that the team management was keeping all options open and using Umar behind the stumps was one of them.

Misbah backs Kamran

Meanwhile, following a three-hour long training session, in which the team replicated a match situation, Pakistan vice-captain Misbahul Haq continued his backing for the under-fire wicket-keeper, insisting Kamran would come back strongly.

“The missed chances did affect the team morale but a bad day can happen to anyone,” said Misbah.

“These are the players who make mistakes but these are the players who win you matches as well. As a team, we need to be united and support him and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

“Anyone can drop a catch. If we keep remembering these instances, we’re never going to be able to move on. So we have to try and work on our mistakes and hopefully, they won’t be repeated.”

As calls grow for the selection committee and team management to discard Kamran after frequent mishaps in key games, Pakistan’s persistence with him continues to puzzle all. Misbah, however, termed him a ‘key member’ of the squad, one that will, hopefully, make a strong comeback.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2011.