Must rattle India with pace: Hafeez

Pakistan’s Twenty20 captain wants his fast-bowlers to shine on the tour.

KARACHI:

Saeed Ajmal may be Pakistan’s trump card according to Misbahul Haq but pace is what the team will use to target India’s strong batting line-up, according to Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez.

Hafeez felt that Pakistan can gain an upper-hand on their traditional rivals if the pacers put up a good show.

“Our fast-bowlers need to perform,” said Hafeez on the sidelines of the training camp in Lahore. “We have lost to India in the recent fixtures and that was because our fast-bowlers didn’t show strength like we have done in the past. If you see matches in the 80s and 90s, we dominated them because our fast-bowlers were on top and tamed their batting efficiently.”

Hafeez hoped the quicks will show a glimpse of that very past in the upcoming series.

“We have five fast bowlers [Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Anwar Ali and Asad Ali] in the Twenty20 squad and I’m planning to make maximum use of them.”

However, he added that the team management has not finalised the playing-XI for the two Twenty20s.

“This will be decided by looking at the conditions.”

‘No favourites for the series’  

Meanwhile, Hafeez warned his players not to take India for granted on the basis of their recent Test-series loss against England.

“It will completely be a different ball game. They have a balanced side in limited-overs format and we will have to give our best effort. But there are no favourites for the series. Both teams have a good track record in the region. We also have a balanced squad and are looking forward to a good series.”

However, the experienced all-rounder admitted there will be a lot of pressure on both sides.

“When you talk of pressure, it’s there even in a club match. As far as Pakistan-India matches are concerned, there is a lot of pressure because of the high expectations from both countries.”

Hafeez backs Afridi to  regain form 

Meanwhile, Hafeez hoped all-rounder Shahid Afridi performs against India.

“It’s very good to see him regaining form and confidence. I wish him best of luck against India as his form will be crucial to our success.”

He added that the players enjoyed the company of former captain Inzamamul Haq, who served as batting consultant in the camp.

“He just spoke to all the players to make them mentally strong. He did not work on their techniques and just shared his experience as a senior and we all benefitted from his tips.”

Kamran inspires Blues

Wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal smashed a half-century to steer Pakistan Blues to a five-wicket win in the practice Twenty20 match at Gaddafi Stadium.

Kamran hit ten fours for his 33-ball 50 as Blues achieved the 136-run target with eight balls and five wickets left. Imran Farhat made 24 while Umar Amin and Azhar Ali scored 18 and 17 respectively.

Earlier, Pakistan Greens were confined to 135 for nine following impressive spells from Zulfiqar Babar and Adnan Rasool, who picked three wickets each. Umar Gul claimed figures of two for 24 as Umar Akmal (33) and Shahid Afridi (28) contributed to the total.

Kolkata, Delhi ODIs o start early

The second and third One-Day Internationals between India and Pakistan – to be held in Kolkata and New Delhi – will start at 12 noon instead of 2:30 pm local time, the BCCI announced yesterday.

The matches will take place on January 3 and January 6 and although no official reason was given for the change, dew is touted as a possible factor. The BCCI also revised the timings of the first four matches of the India-England ODI series.

The opening ODI between India and Pakistan in Chennai, on December 30, is a day match starting at 9 am local time.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2012.