‘I want to regain my slot before World T20 next year’

Jamshed determined to make strong comeback ahead of mega event.

KARACHI:

Discarded opening batsman Nasir Jamshed has vowed to make a stellar comeback following his axing from the national team after the tour of South Africa.

Despite the 24-year-old’s less-than-impressive performance recently, the team management stuck with him in the South Africa away series at a time when the selection committee was pondering to include Sharjeel Khan.

He is now working hard on improving his batting technique in the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and is hungry to regain his touch.

“I’ve taken this ouster on the chin because I want to come back stronger than ever before,” Jamshed told The Express Tribune.



“Currently, I’m working hard on my technique along with coach Mansoor Rana at the NCA because he is someone who understands my game. He played a key role in my rise right from my teenage days.”

The left-hander scored a mere two half-centuries in his last 22 One-day International (ODI) matches after he had seemingly hit the sky with back-to-back centuries against India at the turn of the year.

In his view, he had become extra cautious in his approach after scoring tons against India because he wanted to score more centuries. That is where he lost his flow, getting out to poor shots despite starting off well.

Jamshed revealed that he had a good discussion with the team management who have identified his grey areas.

“I’ve been given a plan to work on my pull and cut shots by the team management because I’ve been getting out due to poor execution of these shots.”

“Misbahul Haq and Muhammad Hafeez have been backing me in a tough phase of my career which has given a big boost. My focus now is on doing well in domestic cricket by piling on the runs. I want to regain my slot in the team before the World Twenty20 next year”.

The youngster also praised the emergence of young blood in Pakistan team; he is impressed by the talent of Sohaib Maqsood, Anwar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti and consistency showed by his fellow opener Ahmed Shahzad.

“Competition in the Pakistan team is a really healthy sign because it pushes everyone to do well and helps in bringing the best out of all individuals.”

Home crowd backing is important for youngsters

Meanwhile, the southpaw emphasised that playing in front of home crowd is really important for any player especially youngsters because the atmosphere is completely different at home venues.

It is pertinent to mention here that Jamshed is probably one of the few lucky youngsters along with wicket-keeper Sarfaraz Ahmed to have played in Pakistan before international cricket activity was suspended in Pakistan in 2009.

“Playing at home is very important for any player because when you have home crowd behind your back there come extra energy in a player.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2013.

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