Pakistan's wicketkeeper-batsman Umar Akmal has been examined by a neurologist in Lahore as the Pakistan Cricket Board sought to unravel the mystery behind the player's reported illness in the West Indies where he was a part of the Caribbean Premier League.
A senior board official confirmed to PTI that Umar had been taken to the neurologist by Intikhab Alam along with his fresh MRI scan reports as a precautionary step.
"The neurologist has ordered some more tests and will examine him again after the reports come in and will give his diagnosis," the official said.
The PCB recalled the youngster from the West Indies after it was learnt that he had reportedly fallen unconscious on a flight from Trinidad to Jamaica.
However, Umar after landing in Lahore told reporters that he was perfectly fine and had no medical issues, and was fit to go and play in Zimbabwe.
Umar was named in the T20 and ODI squads by the selectors for Zimbabwe tour but after his reported illness the board decided to withdraw him and instead named wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed as his replacement.
The official said the board had received all the medical reports about Umar from the West Indies and he was also examined by a doctor in New York while returning to Pakistan.
"We have decided to have him undergo a complete set of tests including consulting a neurologist because something was wrong which led to his falling ill in the West Indies and we just want to be sure he is well taken care off as he is the future of Pakistan cricket," the official explained when asked to comment on Umar's statement to the media.
While Umar denied he was suffering from any illness or was unfit, his elder brother Kamran told reporters that he only had a back strain.
The official said since Umar was a centrally contracted player, the PCB was duty bound to satisfy itself he was 100 per cent fit and take precautionary measures, keeping in view the forthcoming cricket schedule of the team in the next eight to nine months, which is a hectic one.
