PALLEKELE: Umer Akmal had not faked a finger injury in a desperate bid to save his brother Kamran Akmal's place, says Pakistan cricket manager Intikhab Alam.
Umar, who has been tipped to take the wicket-keeping gloves from his elder brother for Monday’s World Cup match against Zimbabwe, hurt his index finger on his right hand in practice two days ago.
But some sections of the Pakistani media have accused him of feigning injury to save Kamran.
Team management accused Umar of feigning injury after the infamous Sydney Test against Australia in January 2010, a Test in which Kamran missed three catches off century maker Michael Hussey and a run out of Shane Watson.
Then, Umar reportedly refused to play if his brother was dropped.
Abdul Raqeeb, who was team manager on that disastrous tour, mentioned the incident in his report which eventually led to fines for both Kamran and Umar.
But Alam insisted there is nothing sinister in 20-year-old Umar’s World Cup injury.
“There is no such thing and we will wait and see how the injury heals,” said Alam.
Kamran came under fire for his sloppy work behind the stumps against New Zealand on Tuesday when he missed two chances off Ross Taylor before the Kiwi batsman went on to smash a match-winning century.
“Umar has pain when he bends the finger and there was slight swelling but since scans revealed no fracture we will wait until the morning of the match against Zimbabwe,” said Alam of Pakistan’s Group A game on Monday.
Umar missed training for the second day in a row, raising doubts over his availability for the match.
Pakistan need a win against Zimbabwe to qualify for the quarter-final stages.
