Wasim, Waqar call Pakistan to raise game
APP, London
Former skipper Wasim Akram has warned Pakistan team not to become overconfident in their last 2019 Cricket World Cup round-robin match against Bangladesh on July 5, saying the Tigers can be dangerous.
Akram said that Pakistan must get Shakib al Hasan out before he settles down so as to build an early pressure on the Bangladesh team.
Pakistan would have to fight against Bangladesh in their last game [before semi-finals], he said.
Talking about Pakistans nail-biting win against Afghanistan on Saturday, Akram said he knew Pakistan team would have trouble chasing the 227-run target total.
Shaheen Afridi, Imad Wasim and Wahab Riaz put a very good show against Afghanistan, he said, adding that Wahab did his best with a fractured finger.
The Sultan of Swing, however, criticised Mohammed Hafeez for losing his wicket the same way every time.
It feels embarrassing now as he is a senior player, Akram said.
He also lauded the Afghanistan team for coming so close to victory, saying Afghan players must improve their fitness as they have the skills and talent in them.
Former skipper Rameez Raja remarked that only Pakistan team can make an easy match so difficult.
He said that while referring to the low Afghanistan team total against Pakistan which at one point had looked difficult to achieve.
Pakistan did well in the first part (bowling) and should have also done good in batting, he added.
Spin maestro Saqlain Mushtaq also appreciated Imad Wasim and Wahab Riaz for their performance, saying that Bangladesh is also a top-class team and the match against them wont be easy.
Meanwhile, Waqar Younis has urged the national team to raise their game for the do-or-die World Cup game against Bangladesh at Lords on June 5.
Its still hard to know what to think about this Pakistan team, wrote Waqar in his column for the official World Cup website.
The win over Afghanistan on Saturday was not the performance of champions and yet, somehow and some way, they are still in contention for a semi-final spot and you can never write them off, wrote Waqar about Pakistans narrow three-wicket win against the Afghans at Leeds on Saturday.
Look at the history of our team and it has always been like this. Two years ago in the Champions Trophy we scratched and scrounged, got smashed by India and could have lost to Sri Lanka and then went on to win it all.
This past year has been a poor one for Pakistan as well, and yet here we are. Even back in 1992, the best year Pakistan cricket has ever known, they started badly before they turned it around.
These parallels with 27 years ago are almost impossible to ignore at this point. It is actually becoming quite scary at this point. Is history repeating itself? I have no idea but if Pakistan do make the semi-finals then they are going to be such a dangerous side.
For that to happen they will need some results to go their way, but most importantly of all, they will have to beat Bangladesh.
To beat Bangladesh they will have to play better than they managed against Afghanistan.
That was a pretty poor showing and, to be brutally honest, you have to say that Afghanistan lost that game with some silly mistakes.
But what a roller coaster of a ride it is to be a Pakistan supporter and a win at a World Cup is still a win. You cant worry too much about the manner of the victory. The win is all that matters.
Unfortunately it has always been this way for Pakistan. We dont seem to be able to find that collective consistency.
But there is no doubting the individual pure talent in our country. Look at a guy like Imad who won us that game.
