KARACHI: Pakistan’s head coach Waqar Younis called for an overhaul in approach as he aims to launch his team’s preparations for next year’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, the legendary pacer claimed that elaborate planning is underway to shape the team’s strategy for the mega event.
“There is no doubt that we need to be aggressive in our approach,” said Waqar. “Our batsmen are scoring in the region of 270, but modern requirements and rule changes have made it necessary to post a 300-run total in ODIs.”
Regarded as one of the greatest fast-bowlers of all time, Waqar feels that the prevailing rules in the 50-over format call for an attacking approach and the onus is on the senior players to inspire the younger batsmen.
“Players like [captain] Misbahul Haq need to tweak their approach slightly. The new team management feels that we need to give an extra cushion to the batting line-up, that’s why we played seven batsmen in the ODIs in Sri Lanka.”
Waqar added that senior batsman Younus Khan was drafted in the ODI line-up keeping in mind the challenging conditions in Australia.
“Younus can play a pivotal role on the hard and bouncy wickets there. Unfortunately, he couldn’t be given a proper run in Sri Lanka due to the sad demise of his nephew, and hopefully we will sort his and other batsmen’s role before we embark on the World Cup journey.”
‘We failed to prepare a backup for Ajmal’
Waqar also made a candid observation on the extra burden on the suspended off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and termed his unavailability a major setback.
“Ajmal was once-in-a-lifetime bowler, you saw him bowl in the power play overs, middle-overs and almost everywhere. The captains relied on him for both attacking and containing the opposition. He was over exposed and there wasn’t any back up planned for him.
“Losing him before the World Cup is a huge setback, but we need to move on now.”
Egos must be kept aside, says Waqar
Waqar, who is in Karachi to watch the ongoing National T20 Cup and meet the selectors ahead of the Australia and New Zealand series in the UAE, feels that the present team management needs to work cohesively.
“We have some superstars in the management. The likes of Moin Khan, Mushtaq Ahmed, Grant Flower and I have tasted incredible success at the highest level, but we shouldn’t expect miracles from some of the youngsters straightaway.
“I shouldn’t expect a new fast-bowler to bowl like me. We in the team management need to keep our egos aside and focus on improving various aspects of our cricket.”
Waqar also asked the nation to get behind him and his team and expressed hope that the 2011 World Cup semi-final result would be further improved in Australia.
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My question to Waqar Sahib is this: If the same team is selected for the Australian ODIs that performed disastrously in Sri Lanka and ignore players like spinner Raza Hassan, wicketkeeper/batsman Sarfraz, all-rounder Anwar Ali, would you and others accept part of the blame and resign? We lose not because we do not have talent. We lose because of the fundamental flaw in our selection process of ignoring talent.