Injury woes: Amir was overused, says Razzaq

Former pacer believes Pakistan up against it after hosts lost pace spearhead for Sri Lanka ODI series

KARACHI: Pakistan’s series against Sri Lanka has gone from bad to worse as they lost pace spearhead Muhammad Amir to injury and former fast-bowler Abdul Razzaq believes the hosts are now up against it in the upcoming ODI series.

Amir had struggled to impress in the ongoing Test series before limping out of the second game, during which he will bat if needed but will not bowl as Pakistan face an uphill task of keeping their unbeaten record at home intact.

Amir’s fellow Karachi Kings pacer Usman Shinwari will be replacing him but Shinwari’s four T20Is have yielded just one wicket so far; a statistic that suggests he may not be ready to fill Amir’s boots just yet.

Shinwari has played 19 List A matches, where he has taken 30 wickets for 799 runs, but Shinwari may not even be given a chance considering Pakistan do have the likes of Hasan Ali, Rumman Raees and Junaid Khan to call upon — with all three impressing during the Champions Trophy.

Razzaq though believes the pressure is firmly on the aforementioned trio of pacers to deliver the results.

“Amir has been bowling in all three formats since he came back,” said Razzaq. “His injury surely has something to do with him being overused. This really puts added pressure on the other three pacers since now there is almost no margin of error.”

Razzaq called upon Champions Trophy’s man of the tournament Hasan to step up to the plate. “Hasan will have the most expectations on him to fill the gap left behind by Amir, but Rumman and Junaid also have impressive ODI stats.”

However, the former all-rounder did put his weight behind Shinwari. “He has a lot of potential and he is passionate about the game. He made his T20 debut way back in 2013 but was out of cricket for two years due to injury. However, since then he has worked hard on his bowling and is once again a very good bowler.”

Razzaq did concede, though, that Shinwari’s lack of experience may well be his undoing come the ODI series. “His fitness is surely up to the mark but he lacks experience,” said Razzaq. “However, this series can provide him with that. Every good bowler needs to be trusted first if they are to gain a spot in the first team. If he manages to perform well here, he might put pressure on his fellow pacers and may well make a place for himself in the future.”