'Dropped' Umar Akmal chided for childishness in 'being fit' claim

Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal has claimed that he is completely fit after being replaced by wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed for the tour of Zimbabwe for being 'medically unfit', while a PCB official called it childish.

According to The Express Tribune, Umar, who the roles of wicketkeeper and batsman during the team's Carribean tour, was retained for the same positions for the Zimbabwe series starting with a Twenty20 game on August 23 in Harare.

However, the PCB replaced the middle-order batsman last week with wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed, while terming him 'medically unfit', with reports suggesting that Umar had suffered a seizure during the ongoing Caribbean Premier League, the report said.

Akmal said that he was completely fit and he even had the doctor's report to confirm it, adding that he would meet the PCB chairman to show him reports after which he would address a press conference.

The batsman even appeared at the National Cricket Academy for training purposes and expressed that he wanted to request the media not to run such things without a confirmation since it hurt his family, the report added.

However, a senior PCB official, while confirming that Umar had fainted from a seizure during a flight to Jamaica, termed the cricketer's statement 'childish', the report further said.

He said that the board was in close contact with the doctors in Jamaica and after being informed of his medical condition, they immediately called him back.