Gul ready to fulfil senior bowler's responsibilities

32-year-old believes big win against Ireland will help team in upcoming ODI series

Pakistan veteran fast-bowler Umar Gul said that he is looking forward to the challenge of facing England, in what promises to be a tough ODI series.

Azhar Ali’s men will face the English team on their home ground in the upcoming five-match ODI series, starting from Wednesday at Southampton.

Currently at the ninth position in ICC ODI ranking, the Men in Green are in dire need to win the coming series in order to get automatic qualification for the ICC World Cup 2019.

Gul, who was not selected for the Test series due to issues with from and fitness, was surprisingly included in the ODI side at the expense of left-armers Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan.

According to Cricket 365, the 32-year-old, who was talking to a local media outlet, vowed to lead the attack as a senior bowler in a tough series. “It’s a tough series because England are a very strong team,” said Gul. “But I’m confident and looking forward to leading the attack from the front as the team’s senior bowler.”

The Peshawar-born pacer also revealed that his confidence is sky high after performing on his return to international cricket, and also believes that a big win against Ireland has increased the morale of the team for the coming series. “I was coming back after more than a 15-month break and as a senior bowler, there were alot of expectations,” he added. “But I was also confident and it helped as I bowled with good rhythm and played my part in the team’s win.

“My performance against Ireland has added to my confidence and I am looking forward to giving my best against England. The team’s morale is also high after winning with such a huge margin against Ireland, and if we play with the same zeal, I’m sure that we can achieve good results against England.”