Umar Akmal 'too flashy' to bat at no.3 : Basit Ali

Islamabad, Dec.5 (ANI): Former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali believes that young batting sensation Umar Akmal is not the right man to bat at the number three position.

In an interview to PakPassion.net, Ali said that although Akmal has been successful batting at number three and scored some vital runs for his team, he is 'too flashy' to be batting at that key position.

Ali said the senior batsman like Younus Khan or Mohammad Yosuf should be the first choice for that position.

"Younus Khan in my opinion is the right man to be batting at three for Pakistan, but if he is not available then it has to be Yousuf who takes the responsibility on his shoulders and bats at number three. There is no point in chopping and changing the batting order and having makeshift number three batsmen," he said.

Commenting on the on-going second Test match against New Zealand, Ali said he is expecting leg-spinner Danish Kaneria to weave his magic to help Pakistan win the encounter to level the three match series 1-1.

"I would expect Danish Kaneria's wrist spin to lead Pakistan to victory. Danish looked very impressive in the first innings and he could be the most penetrative bowler in the second innings for Pakistan," he said.

When asked that who he thinks would lead the side during the forthcoming Australia tour, Ali said its hard to judge board's (PCB's) stand, as it keeps on changing.

"I think it's a simple case of if Pakistan wins the series in New Zealand, then the Board will retain Yousuf. However if Pakistan were to lose the test series in New Zealand and Younus not to make himself available for the tour of Australia, then it's anyone's guess who could be captain,' he said.

"There seems to be very little foresight from the Board at the moment, you win one series and you are flavour of the month, you lose one series as captain and you are discarded and that is exactly what could happen to Yousuf," added the former batsman. (ANI)