Yousuf urges Pakistan to assert their dominance

Former skipper believes Men in Green have enough good players to see out Sri Lanka

KARACHI: Pakistan go into the second ODI on a high at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi after claiming the first one in emphatic fashion, and former skipper Muhammad Yousuf believes they should look to assert their authority right from the get-go.

Babar Azam and Shoaib Malik guided the hosts to a comfortable 83-run win after yet another disappointing opening stand for Pakistan and Yousuf believes struggling opener Ahmad Shahzad needs to deliver.

"He has been struggling to score runs ever since he was hit by the ball [in a Test against New Zealand],” said Yousuf. “He used to play aggressive cricket before but for the past few years he has been batting very slowly. It seems that he is a bit scared of genuine fast-bowlers now. He will need to improve on these things. When he had started playing, he was a very good player so I hope he can start playing like that again.”

Yousuf further said that Fakhar Zaman, man-of-the-match in the Champions Trophy final, has proven just why quick batting is so important early on.

“He has been a good opening batsman for the team. If he is supported from the other end, he can score big and quickly, which can give the team good start,” he said.

Yousuf believes Pakistan need to deploy the spinners if they are to continue stifling teams in the middle overs.

“In the past five or six years, almost all of Pakistan’s wins have been in the UAE, and you need a couple of spinners there,” he said. “Pakistan have Shadab Khan, Muhammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Imad Wasim as options. I believe Imad was brought into the attack a little too late in the previous game. This time around he should be brought on a bit more quickly.”

Yousuf is also impressed with the pace options that the Men in Green possess. “Pakistan have proven pacers in Hasan Ali and Junaid Khan; both of them have performed in different conditions. Rumman Raees also bowled superbly and continuously troubled the batsmen. These bowlers will be a handful in Abu Dhabi.”

However, the former middle-order batsman was let down with the way the bowlers failed to close the innings. “They shouldn’t have given away so many runs at the end,” he said. “Pakistan would have won by a bigger margin otherwise and it might come to haunt them if they do it again. The Pakistan is filled with a great mix of youth and experience so I believe they will win the second ODI as well.”