Sohaib Maqsood opens up about comparison with Inzamamul Haq

Middle-order batsman says shuffling in batting order caused nosedive in performances

Multan-born batsman Sohaib Maqsood’s technique has always been compared with Pakistan batting legend Inzamamul Haq, who interestingly also belongs to the same hometown, and the middle-order batsman believes it is an honour to be compared to such a great willow wielder.

“I was honoured and motivated by the fact that I was being compared to one of Pakistan’s best batsmen. I knew that I was not in the same class as Inzamam but I suppose people made that connection as I used to play at the same club in Multan,” he said.



Sohaib goes downtown. PHOTO: AFP

He added: “My way of walking and height probably also fuelled the idea that I was an Inzamam lookalike. That is where the similarity ended as I could never be the same player as him. Obviously, such comparisons can be helpful but at other times they prove to be tough for your progress.”

Sohaib said Inzamam has given him precious advice to improve his batting and his only way back into the national mix is through a strong domestic performance.

“Whilst I have never spoken to him about this matter, he did call me over to discuss issues with my batting and gave me some good advice,” said Sohaib. “He felt that I should focus on demonstrating my skills by way of good performances during the domestic season. I totally agree with him and just like I made my way into the Pakistan team on the back of some excellent domestic performances in the past, I would like to follow the same path again.”

Reason for failure

Sohaib believes the shuffling in his batting number caused the downfall in his performances in the national team.

Sohaib trains in the nets. PHOTO: AFP

The right-hand batsman, during the 2015 World Cup, played six matches for Pakistan at the number four, five, six, and seven positions and averaged 25.50 at a strike rate of 86.93 with one score of exactly 50 against West Indies.

His last series with Pakistan was the 2016 tour of New Zealand where he played in two of the three-T20Is and in the first of the three-match ODI series. He posted scores of 0 and 18 at the number three position in the T20Is and a score of 10 at the number five position in the sole ODI.

“If you look at my record in domestic cricket, you will note that I would normally play at the one-down position in the long and short formats of the game. When I came into the Pakistan team, I played my first two ODIs which were against South Africa at the number three position and scored fifties in both games,” said Sohaib.

Sohaib plans with Afridi during 2015 World Cup. PHOTO: AFP

“After those games, I was moved around a bit in the batting order. Whilst I can’t blame anyone except myself for my performances, the fact is that I could not adjust that well to the changes in my batting position in the subsequent games. I suppose the issue is that if you are used to playing at number three then you have a different method to pace the innings as opposed to when you are batting at a later position,” he added.

The 29-year-old said he is playing on his preferred one-down position in domestic circuit to gain back the confidence.

“What I am doing now in domestic cricket is to go back to my preferred number three position and get myself back into contention for selection in the national team. The idea is to make a return to the team as a better player than I was before,” he said.

Sohaib receives his man-of-the-match award after domestic match. PHOTO: AFP

Sohaib further shed light on his failure at the international level blaming poor shot selection for the nosedive in performances, however, he argued that the rash shots were due to situations the team was in and not his personal preference.

“Absolutely, there is no doubt that my shot selection was a problem which caused my downfall,” he explained. “However, as I said before, if a batsman is used to playing in the top-order, his shot selection is completely different from someone playing in later positions. That is why usually around the thirty or thirty-five score I would play rash shots which were probably the demand of the hour as the team needed such hits. This obviously caused problems for me and resulted in below-par scores for myself.”


Sohaib Maqsood was interviewed by PakPassion