Shortly after losing to India in the Asia Cup 2025 final in Dubai on September 30, veteran cricketer Umar Akmal of Pakistan displayed his batting prowess in a video. The wicketkeeper-batter was spotted rehearsing at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Karachi. He last played for Pakistan in a Twenty20 International match against Sri Lanka in 2019.
After years away from international cricket, Umar Akmal looked in fantastic rhythm and hit the ball cleanly while wearing full gear.
In his own country, Umar Akmal most recently competed for the Water and Power Development Authority versus Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the 2024 President’s Trophy Final in Rawalpindi. He uploaded the video the day after Pakistan lost to India by five wickets in the continental championship match.
Click here to view the video.
🏏❤️#nca pic.twitter.com/I4IhjNRrAK
— Umar Akmal (@Umar96Akmal) September 29, 2025
Pakistan’s campaign was unsuccessful; they lost three games, all to India. They only scored 146 runs in 19.1 overs in the final, with Sahibzada Farhan leading the way with 57. With Kuldeep Yadav returning 4/30 to end as the tournament’s top wicket-taker with 17 scalps, India’s bowlers were unrelenting. As Pakistan’s batting imploded, Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, and Jasprit Bumrah each contributed two wickets.
India was smashed early at 20 for three, despite the chase appearing simple. But with an undefeated 69 off 53 balls, Tilak Varma stabilised the innings. With the help of Shivam Dube’s 33 off 21 and Sanju Samson’s 24, he made sure India completed the goal in 19.4 overs. Rinku Singh, making his Asia Cup debut, hit a boundary to complete the win. With stats of 3/29, Pakistan’s pacer Faheem Ashraf put up a strong fight, but there wasn’t much margin for mistake due to a shortage of runs.
With their tenth Asia Cup victory, India cemented their supremacy in the area. Now that the tournament is over, both teams focus on their upcoming tasks. While Pakistan gets ready for a Test series against South Africa, India begins a two-match Test series against the West Indies on October 2 at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
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