Missing the green: Junaid hopes to return to the national side

Pacer has struggled with injuries and form but claims he is back to his best

KARACHI: Fit again, Junaid Khan has said he is hungry to return to the international fold after a lacklustre display in the Tests against Sri Lanka saw him dropped from the side.

Pakistan’s next assignment is against Zimbabwe later this month, where the team will play three T20s and as many one-dayers.

This year has not been kind to Junaid as he missed the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand due to a knee injury and has been unable to replicate his pre-injury form since returning from the sidelines.

However, a spell with English county Middlesex has helped him bounce back to full fitness and form, and the left-armer is now keen to remind the selectors of his abilities during the ongoing Haier National T20 Cup in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.



“I’ve found my rhythm back after a difficult 2015 and want to win back my place in the national side,” Junaid told The Express Tribune. “This year hasn’t been a good one for me as I missed the World Cup and all my planning for it went to waste. I couldn’t play a single match in the 2011 mega event and to miss the 2015 edition as well was a big setback for me. I was then axed from the side but I’ve never been afraid of failures and have regained my confidence back after playing for Middlesex.”

The 25-year-old has been a regular feature in Tests and ODIs for Pakistan; having turned out in 22 Tests, picking up 71 wickets in the process, while he has claimed 78 scalps in 52 ODIs. He has been unable to cement a spot in the T20 side, claiming just eight wickets in nine outings.

Junaid has a reputation of being a workaholic but despite working hard and boasting solid numbers has never gotten the attention afforded to the country’s other regular pacemen such as Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Irfan.

However, he aims to get the attention of the selectors for now, rather than of the fans. “All I’m focusing right now is to bowl well and gain the attention of the selectors,” he said. “I feel that I’m in a very good shape. It isn’t like I was out of sorts against Sri Lanka but the wickets didn’t come my way.”

The left-arm pacer said that it has been difficult being sidelined but he has received the backing of veteran batsman Younus Khan and spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed — who backed him to bounce back.

“It’s really difficult when you are dropped; a lot of negative thoughts start coming into your head,” he said. “But I’m lucky to have people like Younus and Mushtaq around, and they told me about the times that they also had poor days but then bounced back. Wasim Akram and Ramiz Raja also backed me in the media, and all that has helped me return a stronger character.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 12^th,  2015.

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