LAHORE:Head Coach Saqlaim Mushtaq has said that the Pakistan pace trio of Naseem Shah, Hasnain and Haris Rauf is the best and the team management has complete confidence in their abilities to do well in the Asia Cup 2022.
‘These three bowlers have executed team plans in the past as well and in any given situation on a day, they can change the complexion of the game,’ he said, adding that Sahheen Shah Afridi led the pace battery but these bowlers are capable of delivering in his absence due to injury.
Dispelling the impression that NHPC bowling coach Umer Rasheed has been called to work with Hasnain, he said the coaching staff at the NHPC is dedicated to work with the players, adding that he himself, Umer Rasheed and Muhammad Yousuf were called by the former Captain Misbahul Haq to work with the team in Karachi in the past as well.
He said Umer Rasheed is an experienced bowling coach at the NHPC and has been invited to work with the fast bowlers since Dubai is a closer destination to Lahore.
On difficulty in acclimatizing with the conditions in Dubai, he said weather conditions don’t matter to the professional cricketers, adding that they can easily adapt to the weather conditions.
Defending Pakistan Captain Babar Azam’s gesture to approach former Indian Captain Virat Kohli at a practice session, he said, “It is a good gesture and we should work to cut down tensions on the playgrounds”. He said cricket is about uniting people and spreading a message of peace and love.
Saqlain Mushtaq said ‘Indian players come to our camp and Pakistani cricketers visit them’, adding, “Cricket is a game and we should take it as a game.”
Quoting from a cricket event in the United States where he was a participant, the former spin wizard said the Pakistan and Indian fans had stitched national flags of both the countries together and there was no division among them while watching cricket in the United States. He said there were no other fans except the Pakistani and the Indians during the tournament in the U.S., adding that cricket is also about uniting humanity.