Coach Mickey Arthur rubbishes Umar Akmal’s allegations
Arthur said that he did not swear at Akmal, but rather told him to improve his attitude
August 16, 2017
KARACHI: Pakistan team’s head coach Micky Arthur has brushed aside the allegations leveled against him by the middle order batsman Umar Akmal.
Following Akmal’s press conference, Arthur denied that he abused the middle order batsman, but confirmed that he scolded him for using facilities at NCA.
“Umar Akmal wanted to use Grant Folower’s services for batting. I told him he must first earn the right to go and play club cricket since he is not under PCB contract anymore.” Arthur said in an interview after the press conference.
“He needs to prove himself before he uses our support staff,” he added.
Akmal had accused Arthur of mistreating him, abusing him and stopping him from training at National Cricket Academy.
However, Arthur said that he didn’t stop Akmal from using NCA but only stopped him from using services of coaching staff.
“I never stopped him from using the academy, told him not to use services of our support staff until he earns the right,” Arthur revealed.
“Umar Akmal cannot expect that the support staff, who are for contracted players, are at his beck and call. No body there should be taken for granted,” he said.
PCB to issue show-cause notice to Akmal
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board said it has decided a show-cause notice to Akmal.
In a press conference earlier today, Akmal alleged that Arthur is also abusive towards other players, further adding that senior players did not stop the coach when he was being verbally abused.
Akmal said that Arthur told him to play club-level cricket instead of coming to the academy.
The cricketer further claimed that he was dropped from the team after an unjustified warning, he also said that he wants to inform the Pakistan Cricket Board regarding the behaviour of the coaching staff.
Akmal was dropped from the Pakistan squad for the Champions Trophy in Birmingham in May this year, after the batsman failed two consecutive fitness tests in two months.
The batsman's failure in fitness tests prompted selectors to bring in Haris Sohail in place of Akmal, asking the cricketer to return home to work on his fitness.
This is not the first time Akmal has become a centre of controversy.
In 2014, Akmal was detained at a local station in Lahore following spat with a traffic warden over breaking a traffic signal. The middle-order batsman also made headlines after a row with security personnel in a Faisalabad theatre auditorium and after being allegedly arrested from an event in Hyderabad.
