Not getting carried away: Waqar looking for further improvement

The head coach believes the batsmen still have a lot of work to do

KARACHI: Head coach Waqar Younis has remained grounded despite Pakistan’s emphatic 147-run win against New Zealand in the third ODI, stating that the team did well but there are several areas where improvement is still needed.

Apart from Umar Akmal, all of Pakistan’s batsmen performed and thrashed the inexperienced Kiwi bowling attack.

It had seemed a more difficult proposition in the second ODI when Pakistan’s batting unit was exposed against the short-pitched stuff – a problem which could be exploited by teams on the bouncy pitches of New Zealand and Australia in the 2015 World Cup.

Waqar said that they did not improve overnight against the short-pitched stuff but the team had a better plan of action going into the third match.

“When you do well, your mistakes get covered but there are still problems in the team,” said Waqar in his post-match comments. “It would be wrong to say that we did a lot of work on the short-pitched stuff instantly. But we spoke about it and had a long meeting after the second ODI about how the New Zealand pacers have been bowling and that helped our batsmen.”

The former skipper added that the team management is trying to improve their options by turning a batsman into a part-time bowler and getting all-rounder Muhammad Hafeez cleared before the mega event.

He said that the likes of Asad Shafiq, Ahmed Shehzad and Haris Sohail have been asked to roll their arms over and Haris has been able to do a good job for the team so far. However, the former pacer admitted that Pakistan’s bowling attack is not perfect at the moment.

“Hafeez is a big loss and we’ve lost Saeed Ajmal as well so we are rebuilding. We are trying to develop some bowlers out of our batsmen,” he added.

When asked whether Afridi’s captaincy has made a big difference to the team as compared to Misbahul Haq’s, Waqar stated that even though Afridi has done a good job it would be unfair to say that the change in captains made all the difference.

The coach also added that the think-tank is trying to build a team which can perform in away conditions as well and put on consistent performances.

Speaking about senior batsman Younus Khan, the coach said that he did well towards scoring almost run-a-ball, and the management is looking to him to provide experience in the middle-order so that the other batsmen can play around him.

Misbah has been retained in the UAE and shall continue to stay with the team while working on his initial treatment and rehab under the watch of the squad’s physiotherapist, Brad Robinson. “This was decided by the team management after a detailed discussion on the issue,” confirmed manager Moin Khan. “The medical report indicates that Misbah is out of the remaining matches of the ongoing series but in light of the team physio’s recommendation, it was decided to retain Misbah.”

 

 

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