In 2001, Akbar was the captain of Pakistan Junior Hockey Team; he represented Pakistan national senior team in champions trophy in Rotterdam, Holland.
In 2002, he represented Pakistan in the world cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In 2003, he represented Pakistan in champions trophy Amstelveen, Holland.
In 2004, he represented Pakistan in Athens, Greece Olympics and also champions trophy Lahore, Pakistan.
In 2005, he won the Robo Cup beating Australia in final Amstelveen, Holland.
In 2006, he won a silver medal in Commonwealth Games Melbourne, Australia, bronze in Asian Games Doha, Qatar and played world cup Mönchengladbach, Germany.
In 2007, he was the captain of Pakistan Hockey Team in champions Trophy Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
In 2008, he represented Pakistan in Beijing, China Olympics.
In November 2010, Akbar was a part of the gold medal winning team at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. At the 2010 Asian Games he was rewarded as the best goalkeeper in the tournament in Beijing, China and played world cup in Delhi, India.
As of 2019, Salman Akbar plays for Victoria and also gives training to the Victoria and HC Pijnacker keepers.
