Umar Akmal wants to improve Test batting with same approach.

Pakistan batsman Umar Akmal has showed his desire for playing Test cricket admitting that  he needed to work on batting for longer periods. Though, he maintained that it is not going to stop him from playing his hard-hitting strokes.

"Being aggressive and not staying for long at the pitch are two different things," Akmal told ESPNcricinfo. "I am working hard to strengthen my ability to bat longer. I don't think I should hold back my shots in Tests. If I do that, I'll get confused and start declining."

"Playing big shots in Test cricket is no more abnormal. We have [Virender] Sehwag, [Kevin] Pietersen and many other players who play big shots."

After dropping Akmal from the Test squad Mohsin Khan, the chief selector and interim coach, told him to "stop being selfish".

Akmal admitted that "It was a fair call by the selectors".

"It's very disappointing when you are axed and especially from the Test squad. Test cricket is the supreme form of the game and it is where I want to perform the best. No matter how long you play one-dayers and Twenty20s, it is Test cricket that will determine your worth," he added.

"When I am at the crease everything apart from the ball in the bowler's hands is a blur and I am very desperate to strike it. I think I need to tone down my desperation and that will come when play more and more cricket. My brother and coaches have helped me a lot in this regard, and you might have seen a difference in my recent batting."

Akmal asserted that he could play with the demands of different formats of the game with a single approach.

"Cricket these days is so fast. I think I must not confuse myself by changing my focus again and again for different formats of the game. The approach must remain intact. What I was asked to do was to develop the temperament to stay at the wicket and [told that] the runs would then automatically come. I don't know what the selectors have decided about me, but I am very much hopeful to regain my place in the Test side. I am still young and learning. This is a process that will never end."