The national team has left Wasim Akram impressed as after a successful day-two against England, the legendary pacer has revealed that he wasn’t expecting the young Pakistan side to perform that good.
In an interview, the Sultan of Swing said, “With my cricket experience, I was doubtful. I thought they would struggle and Ireland and they did. But Faheem Ashraf and Shadab Khan rescued Pakistan in the first inning and then Babar and Imam did the same in second inning, [which] was quite amazing.”
“I definitely thought they would struggle in England, especially at Lord’s because of early summer but they won all six sessions on both days of the game,” he added.
Praising Azhar Ali, Wasim said he is the most compact batsman Pakistan currently have. “Leaving the ball is a art and has been doing it very consistently.”
Speaking about Asad Shafiq, who scored 58 runs, the former captain said, “We were discussing Asad’s batting technique there at the studio. He was playing the ball late. That is what [head coach] Mickey Arther said. You cannot learn this in a day or two. Grant Flower had a long session with the batsmen ahead of the tour.”
Admiring Shadab’s brilliant all-rounder performance, he said, “I’m very happy for Shadab. He is at the age where he is enjoying his cricket. He scored a brilliant half century against Ireland and now he did it against here at Lord.”
Praising the head coach Mickey, Wasim said “We should give credit where it is due. Mickey bought new mindset and now we are seeing the results.”
Referring to England’s bowling, he said they have dropped five catches. There was long discussion in the commentary box that England have bowled short. They have two bowlers who have taken almost 1000 wickets in Test cricket. They needed to be reminded that they need to pitch the ball up a little bit.
“When you are bowled out on 180, you will be under pressure, that is where Pakistan took full advantage and taken the game away. But still it is not over yet, there are three more days to go, Pakistan need to keep them under pressure,” he added.