Zaheer tells Umar Akmal to improve shot selection for sustained stint in national squad

Lahore, May 15 (ANI): Former Pakistan cricket captain and coach, Zaheer Abbas, has said batsman Umar Akmal has immense talent, but has failed to show his skills on the highest stage of the sport due to wrong shot selection.

There has been a lot of criticism of Umar's shot selection. Umar, however, has been retained in the limited-overs squad, The Nation reports.

There is a strong school of thought that Umar, 21, is the most talented batsman produced by Pakistan in the last 15 years.

Zaheer said Umar usually gets carried away in the longer version of the game and feels that he will have to take care of his temperament in order to excel in international cricket. Zaheer added that he had spoken to Umar and explained this problem to him.

Some pundits believe that Umar bats way too low in the batting order and this is the prime reason why, he has so far struggled to establish himself as a prolific batsman.

Zaheer said Twenty-20 skipper Hafeez's future elevation to captain from vice-captain will be based on his performance in all three types of formats.

"Hafeez is the right choice as T-20 Captain as currently he is the only choice. He is scoring runs and taking wickets for the team. If he performs well then obviously that will be the right choice in future as well for the captaincy," Zaheer said. (ANI)