Middle-order batsman Umar Akmal’s complicated relationship with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) continues to strain, as the batter, once tipped to be Pakistan’s next superstar, has once again criticised the governing body.

 

Speaking to the media on Friday, the 35-year-old said he deeply regrets choosing Pakistan over a lucrative T20 league career. “International cricket was always my first priority. I left big leagues to serve Pakistan but today I regret those decisions,” Umar said.

 

He expressed regret over what he described as repeated and unexplained discrimination by the PCB, particularly its consistent refusal to grant him No Objection Certificates (NOCs) to play in overseas leagues. “I don’t know who at the PCB thinks I shouldn’t play cricket, but I have suffered in silence again and again,” he said.

 

Umar Akmal recalled the time when a delayed NOC nearly cost him an entire league season, adding to his financial and mental struggles. He has now applied for another NOC to play in an ICC-approved league in Switzerland, but says the PCB has yet to respond.

 

Expressing his frustration, he said, “If the league wasn’t legitimate, why would I even apply? I followed the process. What more do they want?”

 

If his latest application is rejected again, Umar is prepared to take legal action. “If this continues, I will go to court. I’m not done yet. I have many years left in me and I deserve the same opportunities others get,” he said.

 

Umar Akmal, who last played for Pakistan in 2019, remains one of the country’s most recognised T20 players. A seasoned name in leagues like the PSL, BPL, CPL and the Champions League T20, he has scored 5,839 runs in 279 matches at a strike rate of 131, with 34 fifties and a century. For Pakistan, he made 1,690 runs in 84 T20 internationals at a strike rate of 122.73, with eight fifties to his name.

 

But after years of stop-start setbacks with the PCB, he admits that putting Pakistan ahead of personal gain may have cost him far more than he ever imagined.