Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal made his ODI and Test debuts during Pakistan's tour of Zimbabwe in 2002 and soon established himself as an attacking wicket-keeper batsman. His ability to bat as a floater in the middle order and as an attacking opening batsman ended the competition between Rashid Latif and Moin Khan , who were both nearing the end of their careers. Despite being a middle order batsman, Akmal filled Pakistan's opening void to good effect, especially in ODIs. His biggest success as an opener came in 2005, when he smashed consecutive centuries against the visiting English team. He made rapid strides in the 2005-06 season with his bat and the gloves, which even impressed the likes of Ian Healy.

In Test cricket, he would swiftly change to his position in the lower middle order. He was particularly successful against arch-rivals India, against whom he performed many rescue acts. His maiden Test ton was one such show where he scored a defying century coming down at Number 8 at Mohali in 2005. He did the impossible once again in Karachi in 2006, where he made a stunning 113 to rescue Pakistan from 35/6 to 245. The innings gave Pakistan an improbable victory and began a highly productive year for Akmal, where he scored seven international hundreds within just 6 months.

Things didn't go as well as it used to for Akmal in the latter half of 2006. He did poorly with the bat on the tour to England and his form continued to go downward. More than his batting form, it was his problems with the glove that turned out to be a bigger headache, so much so that he was left out of the Asia cup squad in 2008 due to poor glove-work. However, he was a part of the Pakistan squad that lifted the T20 World Cup in 2009, and also showed improvement in wicketkeeping skills. However, the promise didn't last long, as his horrors behind the stumps returned soon. In one unforgettable and unfathomable performance at Sydney in 2010, he dropped 4 catches and missed a run out in the 2nd innings to let Australia off the hook and escape with a sensational win. He was dropped from the Pakistan squad after his horrendous show in the 2011 World Cup, the most notable one being the twin drop catches off Ross Taylor in a league game. Taylor went on to make a blazing century to help New Zealand win the match. Akmal became notoriously famous in Twitter, and 'Kamran Akmal' jokes became a rage on the internet.

His incompetence as a wicketkeeper kept him out of the squad after that. He was kept as a back-up most of the times and has played very few games in the recent times. He ended up conceding his position as a wicketkeeper to his own brother Umar Akmal. After being out of the squad for more than a year, he was drafted into the T20 side for the World Cup in March 2014. However, he had a poor outing with the bat, scored only 48 runs in 4 games.

Controversies: Kamran Akmal's poor show in the Sydney Test led to suspicion and allegations of match fixing. In September 2010, the ICC sent an official notice to inform him that he is under investigation for fixing the Sydney Test. However, Kamran was absolved off all charges.

By Cricbuzz staff
As of April 2014