Umar Akmal sparked controversy involving Babar Azam after Pakistan’s 61-run defeat to India during the T20 World Cup 2026. R of Colombo. Following the defeat at the Premadasa Stadium, Akmal attracted attention with a social media post on X (formerly known as Twitter), calling Babar a “fake king”.
Babar is under pressure after his poor performance during the T20 World Cup 2026. The right-handed batsman has been able to score only 66 runs at a disappointing average of 22 and a strike rate of 115.78. In the recent match against India, he scored 5 runs in 7 balls before losing his wicket to a bad shot.
‘Fake King’: Umar Akmal on Babar Azam after Pakistan’s defeat
Following Pakistan’s defeat, Umar Akmal reacted to a post praising him as a “pure talent” while taking a dig at the so-called “fake kings”. The post claimed that Akmal never had fake fan clubs, was never branded a “king” and did not rely on social media promotion.
Notably, Babar Azam was not named in the post. Given Babar’s long association with the “King” tag among fans, the timing and words were widely seen as a straight shot. Many are questioning why a former international cricketer chose to respond to criticism instead of supporting the team.
https://t.co/CDBpb7lVGl
– Umar Akmal (@Umar96Akmal) 17 February 2026
Fans left in split as Umar Akmal’s post receives sharp reactions
Social media users criticized Umar Akmal for dragging personal grievances into a national sporting scandal and described the move as “cheap” and “ill-timed”. A section of fans also accused him of searching for relevance after years away from international cricket.
However, others supported Akmal, arguing that Pakistan cricket had become too dependent on branding and hero worship. He claimed that the team needs performances, not titles, and praised Akmal for “speaking the truth” even if it inconvenienced people.
“One user wrote, Brother, he was also given many chances but he failed us many times, his statistics tell about this.
Another user said, “Umar bhai, you were a great player. Never seen a player like you in T20 for Pakistan.”
“One fan said, Brother you are one of the best middle order players Pakistan has ever produced but you have ruined yourself with your actions.
Umar Akmal’s international career in statistics
Umar Akmal played international cricket for Pakistan for almost ten years after making his debut in 2009. He last represented Pakistan in a T20I against Sri Lanka on October 7, 2019. His final ODI came against Australia earlier that year on March 31, while his Test career ended against Zimbabwe on September 1, 2011.
Akmal scored a total of 5,887 runs across all formats. In 121 ODI matches, he scored 3,194 runs at an average of 34.34, which included two centuries and 20 fifties. He played 84 T20Is and scored 1,690 runs at an average of 26.00 with eight half-centuries.
In Tests, Akmal appeared in 16 matches and scored 1,003 runs at an average of 35.82. He recorded his only Test century on debut away from home, but did not get any long runs in the longest format.
Also read: Jason Gillespie names Pakistan fast bowler ahead of Jasprit Bumrah in his list of greatest T20 bowlers
