Akmal To Bear The Mantle

Kamran Akmal is well and truly carrying forward the legacy of Wasim Bari, Salim Yousuf, Moin Khan and Rashid Latif. Not only has he been performing well with the big gloves, he is proving to be more than handful for the opposition with the bat as well. He had already proved his mettle, so far as wielding the willow is concerned, with a fine ton in the VB series in Australia, when he was promoted to open the innings for Pakistan. Now, his match-saving partnership with Abdul Razzaq in the first Test against India at Mohali, has earned him kudos and respect from one and all. There could not be any better setting for scoring his first Test century, as his admirable blend of measured aggression and effective defence proved too hot for the Indians to handle. What is especially noteworthy about his total approach towards the game, is the simplicity and lack of extravagance. Like Asim Kamal and Naved-ul-Hasan, he goes about his job wit minimum of fuss. Pakistan has been notorious for its constant chopping and changing of batsmen and bowlers, but its wicketkeeper-batsmen have tended to retain their spots over long stretches of time. And Kamran Akmal seems all set to maintain the healthy trend, in spite of potentially stiff competition back home from other promising youngsters like Atiq-uz-Zaman and Humayun Farhat.