Kamran Akmal...

Kamran Akmal is a Pakistani cricketer who has played Tests, ODIs and T20Is for Pakistan as a wicket-keeper. A right-handed batsman, Akmal started his international career in November 2002 with a Test match which Pakistan won at Harare Sports Club. He has made 2648 runs in 53 Test matches with the help of six centuries, while in 137 ODIs; he has scored 2924 runs with the help of five centuries. In T20Is, he has scored 704 run. As a wicket-keeper, he has dismissed 206, 159 and 45 batsmen in Tests, ODIs and T20Is respectively.

There has been little doubt about Akmal's batting. The purity of his drives and the strength of his cutting and pulling, particularly on slower subcontinent surfaces, have always held a strong allure. And when it comes together as it did one January morning in Karachi against India - one of the Test innings of that decade - he makes it in the side as a batsman alone.  But his glove work, which began so promisingly when he effectively ended the dogfight between Rashid Latif and Moin Khan in late 2004, has deteriorated alarmingly and few Pakistan matches are complete without a clumsy Akmal error. It wasn't always thus, for he was good when he began, good enough to impress Ian Healy. But non-stop cricket in all three formats have let technical errors creep in and critics and experts have long pushed for the need for him to take a break.

He is a quick-scoring batsman and a wicket-keeper, who has achieved 6 centuries in Test innings. However, his first century was vital - his 109 from the number eight position at Mohali, coming in with Pakistan in a lead of 39 against India in the first Test, ensured that the visitors could draw the match. His form against the touring English in 2005 made him one of the most important players in the team. Naturally, he is a batsman that plays lower down the order but has sometimes opened in both Test and One-day cricket. As an opener he has scored two back to back centuries in ODIs against England. Coming in lower down the order in Test matches, he played one memorable innings. He saved Pakistan from a score of 39/6, scoring a century, to a competitive 245 which helped Pakistan win the match and the series.

His batting was highly productive in early 2006 as he scored seven international hundreds within the space of 6 months. Since his tour of England in summer 2006 however his batting form dwindled and steadily become worse. His wicket-keeping also worsened and dropped many catches on both the England tour and on a tour to South Africa in early 2007. He then scored an international hundred in the Bangladeshi tour of Pakistan in 2008. He later moved to have some injuries and did not play for some days but later he was again brought into the team.

Akmal was dropped for the Asia Cup 2008 as a result of his poor wicket-keeping. He was replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed who performed very well at the domestic level and also because of Sarfraz's strong showing in the U-19 World Cup. Akmal was named in the 30 man probable squad for the 2008 ICC Champions Trophy.