Young side indicating promising future: Mohsin

Former Pakistan Test cricketer heaps praise on series-winners.

KARACHI:

A team regularly dubbed as brilliant in whites and awful in colours, Pakistan are finally challenging the tag with Azhar Ali leading the team to their second consecutive one-day series win.

The team was devoid of big names such as Shahid Afridi or Misbahul Haq, who have retired from ODIs, while Younus Khan was overlooked by selectors in preference to fielding youngsters.

Regular starters Haris Sohail and Wahab Riaz were ruled out before the ODI series due to injuries, while the likes of Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Khan and Umar Akmal were not even part of the squad.



The situation pointed to a less than favourable outcome for Pakistan, who were without eight players who had played in the World Cup. However, they defied the odds and registered an important 3-2 series win under the leadership of Azhar.

Former Test cricketer Mohsin Khan lauded the young side. “The young team and its young captain need to be applauded for their steely resolve against Sri Lanka despite missing seniors and key players for the assignment,” Mohsin told The Express Tribune.

The erstwhile coach also showered praise on the skipper. “Azhar has certainly taken his game to a new level despite being a player of Misbah’s mould previously,” he said.

“You can see that he is keen to improvise, show aggression and marshal his troops pro-actively. These are things which Misbah didn’t bring to his game and Azhar certainly has a bright future ahead as a captain.”

Mohsin commended Pakistan’s fielding and said that Anwar Ali and Mohammad Rizwan are the real reason why Pakistan looked so good in the field. “Pakistan must groom both Anwar and Rizwan because they are fighters. Rizwan is very confident with the bat while Anwar has the ability to become a match-winner,” he said.

‘Hafeez, Malik brought calmness to the side’

According to Mohsin, seniors Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik were brilliant throughout the series and were a calming influence on the whole side whenever they were caught in tough situations.

“Hafeez has shown that he is mentally strong and it’s good to see him do so well with the bat after that bowling suspension,” said the 60-year-old. “On the other hand, Malik has been chipping in with important contributions ever since he came back into the team.”

‘Sarfraz has changed Pakistan’s batting dynamics’

Mohsin made a special mention of Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed, terming him an emerging world-class batsman who could change the course of the match in any condition and situation.

“Sarfraz is an exceptional cricketer who is becoming a world-class batsman and has allowed Pakistan to believe that they can win from any situation,” he said. “He has shown that he’s a genuine match-winner no matter where he plays; UAE, Australia, New Zealand or
Sri Lanka.”

The former opener also seemed impressed by spinner Yasir Shah, commenting that the bowler has changed gears in limited overs cricket after a successful outing in Tests.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 28^th,  2015.

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