KARACHI: If ever a soap opera were to be made about Pakistan cricket, Umar Akmal might be a good candidate for the role of enfant terrible.
The talented-yet-wayward batsman is scrambling to save his once-promising career, after he was hit with a three-year ban for failing to report match-fixing offers.
Umar is expected to learn the fate of an appeal to last month's disciplinary action on or about May 26, which also happens to be his 30th birthday.
Right now, the signs don't look good.
Umar declined to speak to AFP for this story, but several experts suggested Pakistan's close-knit cricketing world is fed up.
"Umar is not prepared to show remorse and seek apology," the judgement accompanying Umar's ban states.
Ramiz Raja, a former Pakistan captain and a well-known cricket analyst, said he was "pained to see such a talent go waste".
"Cricket cannot condone such behaviour and fans need to realise that rooting for tainted players is actually harming Pakistan cricket and its image," Raja told AFP.
Umar's Test career exploded into life with a century in his 2009 debut in New Zealand, a feat that prompted commentators to describe him a "future star".
But his expanding profile was soon tempered with disciplinary problems. His two brothers -- Kamran and Adnan -- also played for Pakistan but never got into hot water.
Within months of his first international outing, Umar reportedly feigned an injury in a bid to skip a Test in Australia, in protest over Kamran being dropped.
He was fined and placed on a six-month probation.
Even the astute Misbah-ul-Haq -- Pakistan's most successful Test captain -- could not rein in Umar.
Following an irresponsible shot in a 2011 Test in Zimbabwe, he never again selected Umar for the longer format.
The following year, he was fined and reprimanded for an altercation with umpires during the Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.
He ran into trouble off the field too. In 2014, he was arrested in his native Lahore over a scuffle with a traffic warden.
He has repeatedly grabbed headlines for partying late into the night, ending in yet more fines and reprimands.
A dozen captains and coaches tried to keep Umar on track, but without luck.
Waqar Younis had two coaching stints from 2010 to 2016, and ended up recommending an undisciplined "Umar be kept away from the national team for some time".
After Waqar, coach Mickey Arthur, of South Africa, had several run-ins with Umar.
In 2017 Arthur sent him home days before the start of the Champions Trophy after he failed a fitness test.
Later that year he received a three-month ban after a spat with Arthur in the national cricket academy in Lahore.
Arthur, now head coach of Sri Lanka, said he wasn't surprised by Umar's recent problems.
"I feel nothing for guys who waste their talent like he has... he should be the disappointed one!" Arthur told AFP in a WhatsApp message.
"He will only have himself to blame and should have taken responsibility for his career instead of always looking to make excuses and blame others."
Despite promises, Umar did not change.
"I want to ask forgiveness of all fans who have been hurt by my conduct," Umar said in 2017.
"I am ready to commit to cricket. I still have a lot of cricket left in me and I aim to make another international comeback."
But it seems he has now run out of chances.
Umar Akmal, Pakistan cricket's enfant terrible, faces reckoning
https://arab.news/5h9d8
Umar Akmal, Pakistan cricket's enfant terrible, faces reckoning
- The 30-year-old batsman was hit with a three-year ban for failing to report match-fixing offers
- He is expected to learn the fate of an appeal to last month's disciplinary action on or about May 26
Pakistan’s Punjab deploys satellites, drones, AI to combat smog
- Senior minister warns industrial masks may become necessary without a change in public attitudes toward pollution
- Cities in Punjab face worsening smog each winter, driven by crop burning, vehicle emissions and industrial pollution
ISLAMABAD: Punjab Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb on Wednesday said Pakistan’s most populous province deployed satellites, drones and artificial intelligence to tackle smog, warning that industrial masks may become necessary if public attitudes toward air pollution did not change.
Punjab cities face worsening smog each winter, driven by crop burning, vehicle emissions and industrial pollution that threatens public health and daily life. The smog season typically begins in late October, peaks between November and January and can persist through February.
Smog causes symptoms such as sore throats, eye irritation and respiratory illnesses, while prolonged exposure raises the risk of stroke, heart disease and lung cancer. Children are more vulnerable due to higher breathing rates and weaker immune systems.
“We have the AI machine-learning forecasting system in place, surveillance drones and technology cameras,” Aurangzeb said while addressing an event.
“At present, what is considered one of the world’s best environmental protection forces — with training, equipment, technology and digitally integrated data — is operating in Punjab,” she added.
Aurangzeb said surveillance is now being carried out through drones.
“There is monitoring, technology, cameras,” she continued. “Everything is digital.”
The minister maintained the eastern corridor from India was a major source of smoke which becomes active during the winter season.
She said this was the first time a complete testing system was introduced by the Environmental Protection Agency to measure pollution released by vehicles.
She added the government has loaned 5,000 super seeders to farmers, which are agricultural machines that plant crops directly into fields without removing leftover stubble, reducing crop burning, and helping curb winter smog.
Aurangzeb warned the situation could reach a point where people may have to use industrial masks and carry therm around like a “purse or wallet.”
“This will become a mandatory item if we do not change our attitudes and habits toward air quality, climate and conservation.”
Pakistan’s main urban centers routinely rank among the most polluted cities in the world, with vehicular emissions remaining one of the top contributors to air pollution.
The severe air pollution also undermines economic productivity and diminishes the quality of life for millions of residents.
