Saeed Ajmal will be Pakistan’s trump card but it will be the effort put in by all 11 players on the field that can help the team beat India on their home grounds, according to Pakistan head coach Dav Whatmore who spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing training camp for the tour.
The Twenty20 and One-Day International (ODI) squads underwent light batting and bowling practice on the opening day of the camp which Misbahul Haq and Mohammad Hafeez missed due to a delay in their flight from Karachi. Shahid Afridi, Younus Khan, Shoaib Malik, Anwar Ali and Saeed Ajmal were also absent from the list of attendees.
Meanwhile, Whatmore remained confident ahead of the tour that includes two Twenty20s and three ODIs.
“We are very confident going into the series,” said Whatmore. “These players have played a lot of cricket so it’s nothing new. We just need to supplement their preparation with 50-over matches which will take place towards the end of the camp. We will prepare for the series as much as we possibly can.”
The coach, however, stressed that the players will have to acclimatise quickly with the weather and conditions in India with every match taking place at a different venue. He felt that the squads had the variety needed to tackle whatever condition they faced.
“We’ll certainly pick a group of bowlers depending on the conditions. We feel we have enough artillery to satisfy whatever conditions we will be presented with.”
Ajmal trump card in series
Meanwhile, the coach, while stressing for a team effort, rated Ajmal as the main threat for India.
“Ajmal will always remain a trump card for us. We all know he is a wonderful bowler. But it won’t be an easy series for us. I do find the added interest of neighbours playing each other fantastic. Players from both sides respect each other as they are thorough professionals. We are keen to play against the neighbours and we look forward to a good series.”
Coach happy with Inzamam’s appointment
Whatmore also expressed his delight on the appointment of legendary batsman Inzamamul Haq as batting consultant for the series.
“He has been a stalwart for Pakistan cricket. He has recently retired so will be able to pass on some knowledge against contemporary bowlers. He has faced the Indian bowlers so he will be able to discuss those players and let them know how he approached the same kind of bowlers that we are going to face.”
Ajmal escapes serious injury after crash
Pakistan’s star spinner Saeed Ajmal was in a car accident on Wednesday night while on the motorway heading to Faisalabad from Islamabad.
Fortunately, Ajmal escaped any injury despite the car being badly damaged.
“It was a horrific accident,” a close aide of the off-spinner told The Express Tribune. “It happened due to a burst tyre. The car is heavily damaged but miraculously Ajmal escaped injury.”
He added that the accident will not put Ajmal’s participation in the series against India in jeopardy.
“He has informed the team management that he will attend the training camp after a brief delay. He is just in shock and will recover soon.”
Published in The Express Tribune, December 15Wth, 2012.
COMMENTS (11)
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Afiridis presence on the field is like a lion in the field..... As per my opinion he should be picked for both the formats including ODI's his absence would be a great loss to us selectors shoud review their descission i requst every supporter to pray for our win in both the formats INSHALLAH
Inzaman is back? Another nail in the coffin of Pakistani cricket. He along with Saeed Anwar is responsible for the current mess. These two created a culture of tableegh inside the team over professionalism. To retain your position in the team, you needed to show how many Rikaats you were doing, not how many wickets or runs you were scoring. Don't know this time it would be different.
@Fus bro there is huge talent for football agreed, but they r not ignored bcoz of provinces but becoz all other sports except cricket r ignored.
1) jamshed 2)hafeez 3) azhar ali 4) umar akmal 5) misbah 6) haris sohail 7) kamran 8) gul 9) ajmal 10) junaid khan 11) riaz this would be my best 11 for the ODI's( given that misbah was still the captain). Would have really liked to have used razzaq at 6 however, worst idea not including him in the squad :(
I never knew that Umar Gul, Junaid Khan and Younis Khan are from Punjab. What a Naive I am.
I never knew that Umar Gul and Younis Khan are from Punjab
@Karachi wala Prove yourself for the National duty, don't be harsh.lolz
For god sake bros, don't b biased on prov basis. V r all Pakistani and its a Pakistani team going to represent Pakistan not any particular province. So just support pakistan and b pakistani n love pakistan. Thanks
@Karachiwala, well all the team players are from one province due to the fact that our sport authorities have done nothing to promote any sport in other provinces. The only planning and money PCB and other federations have is for Punjab only. In 60 years the Pakistan cricket board has just developed sports in Punjab, no new stadiums were constructed in Sind, Baluchistan or even KPK or fata. The Niaz stadium Hyderabad, and Arbab stadium Peshawer are in bad shape, stadium in Quetta is probably in worst condition. There is a huge talent in Baluchistan and southern Sind for Football and boxing, but I guess our sport federation and govt. really dont care much about the ppl of Sind and baluchistan.