Daily Times

LAHORE: Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal has become the only Asian wicketkeeper-batsman to score 31 centuries in first-class cricket. The wicketkeeper-batsman achieved the milestone while playing for Central Punjab against Northern, in the second round of Quaid-e-Azam (QeA) Trophy in Faisalabad. Akmal is also second on the list of wicketkeeper-batsmen with most first-class hundreds. The list is headed by late England cricketer Les Ames, who scored 56 first-class centuries as a wicketkeeper-batsman during his 25-year career, spanning from 1926 to 1951. Despite being out of the Pakistan side since 2017, Akmal, in a recent interview vowed to continue playing till he was in from and fully fit. “I will continue to play until and unless my form deserts me and I’m no longer fit enough to play,” he said. “The example of Younis Khan and Misbahul Haq is infront of us as they contributed for Pakistan despite being in their late 30s and early 40s.” Sri Lanka’s Kaushal Silva is the only other active wicket-keeper batsman close to Akmal in the list with 26 centuries.