SHARJAH - Pakistan cricket team head coach Waqar Younis has accepted death bowling was still a matter of concern for Pakistan team.
Waqar said bowlers didn’t bowl on perfect line and length and they were also unable to set a perfect target for Black Caps as they were atleast 30 runs short from a defendable total.
Waqar said top order was not performing for the team, which is an area of concern but he ruled out major changes saying they had just played two matches and there was still lot to play. “We would not panic and make decisions in haste. I hope Younus Khan and Asad Shafiq would bounce back in the next matches.”
He said losing early wickets was the main reason behind team to recover completely. He praised Hafeez, Misbah, Haris and Afridi. “We have set sights on the World Cup and we would build a strong team for the mega event. Haris is with the team for six, seven weeks, so we tried him. He was given the task of bowling in the nets and the trust paid off as Haris is developing very well and he would be the next genuine all-rounder for the team.”
When asked about Misbah’s injury, Waqar said he had hamstring issue and after an MRI scan they would decide about the participation of the skipper in the third ODI. Waqar was coyed about nominating captain of Pakistan team in absence of unfit Misbah saying it was the domain of the PCB chairman to nominate the captainand first they would wait and check Misbah’s progress and then would take instructions from the PCB head if the need arises. He also praised Afridi and said he was showing maturity and improving with every game.
Waqar was not ready to accept biter and harsh reality that fast bowlers were not delivering for the team and Waqar’s performance as coach is highly questionable when it comes to winning percentage in One Day Internationals. “I can’t judge my performance, media is the best judge. Yes fast bowlers are not taking enough wickets but they are trying hard.”
He ruled out team was facing bowling crisis and said they still had plenty of bowling options. He said Umar Gul was facing fitness issues but termed the length of the tour main reason behind fitness issues to players. “It was a long tour, so one should expect injury issues. We missed Juniad through injury, Wahab was also out for a while but now he is back. We would bounce back and there is no need of panic.” When asked about Saeed Ajmal’s future, Waqr said they were still not sure about Ajmal’s immediate future and were waiting and hoping for his comeback as soon as possible.