Sam2:
R’ Akiva was hoping that when the opportunity came, he would be able to fulfill this Mitzvah.
I think it was more than that… If I remember correctly, it was “all my life I have been pained by this passuk; when will I be able to fulfill it?”
Also, the Gemara doesn’t say he Davened for it, just that he hoped for it to come. We don’t Daven for death… And it is certainly disgusting to say that someone died because of the Chafetz Chaim’s Tefillos.
True, R’ Akiva did not daven for death, and I’m pretty sure the Chofetz Chaim didn’t either. But as DY pointed out, it could very well be that the CC davened that he would die al Kiddush Hashem when it was his time to go.