DUBAI: Pakistan head coach Saqlain Mushtaq came out in support of top-order batter Fakhar Zaman and expressed confidence regarding a stronger comeback of the latter in the side’s upcoming matches.
Saqlain, while talking to the media ahead of Pakistan’s scheduled Asia Cup Super Four clash against Afghanistan, opined regarding the struggling left-handed batter Fakhar and termed him a ‘fighter’.
“Fakhar Zaman is a fighter, we have no doubt about his abilities, he is a match winner and he will make a comeback in upcoming matches,” said Saqlain.
The head coach further commented on the recent slump in Babar Azam’s performance in the ongoing Asia Cup and stated that the latter is a world-class batter while also asserting that a dip in his performance sparked a new life in the batting line-up.
“Babar is a world-class batter. His failures in two-three innings have sparked a new life in the rest of our batting line-up since they had to adopt the responsibility and they did it efficiently,” said Saqlain.
Saqlain then went on to heap praises on wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan and coined him a ‘Super Human’.
“Rizwan is a superhuman. Fitness issues keep going. May Allah saves him from the evil eye, if it was not necessary away from Pakistan, another wicket-keeper would have been called but it was not needed,” Saqlain stated.
“Mohammad Rizwan is such a player who has to do a lot, but the medical staff has thankfully given him the green signal,” he continued.
The head coach then also commented on Pakistan’s thrilling victory over India in their first Super Four clash and acknowledged that the green shirts counter India’s attack with a positive mindset.
“India attacked strongly in the beginning, we knew their strategy and our bowlers did well to mark an astonishing comeback and our captain Babar also adopted the attacking strategy,” revealed Saqlain.
“Our batters attacked on Bhaneshwar Kumar and did well to work on the strategy. It is true that we also attacked India’s plan of attack which was brilliant,” he maintained.
Talking about Pakistan’s upcoming Super Four clash against Afghanistan, Saqlain insisted that no team is a weak opponent in the shortest format while also giving reference to Afghanistan’s performance in the initial stage of the ongoing Asia Cup.
“No team is easy in the shortest format. Afghanistan played good cricket in the group stages,” he concluded.
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