Pakistan’s newcomer Haris Sohail has revealed that he is confident he can help his team’s bowling which has been hit badly by the suspension of ace spinner Saeed Ajmal and all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez.
The 25-year-old bowled 10 overs for 39 runs before hitting an unbeaten career best 85 to anchor Pakistan’s three-wicket win in the first one-day international against New Zealand in Dubai on Monday.
His left-arm slow bowling enabled Pakistan to overcome the loss of Hafeez who was suspended on Sunday over illegal bowling action.
On Monday, Hafeez played as batsman only with Sohail coming to the rescue as fifth bowler in the match, a cause of delight for the youngster.
“I am very happy to help Pakistan’s bowling,” said Sohail, who had bowled only 68 deliveries in 57 first-class matches before Monday.
“I have been bowling in the nets for two to three hours daily and the spin bowling coach (Mushtaq Ahmed), coach (Waqar Younis) and skipper (Misbah-ul Haq) all gave me confidence and it was a great encouragement,” said Sohail.
Pakistan have named both Hafeez and Ajmal in their preliminary 30-man squad for next year’s World Cup but would need extra
help in bowling in case both failed to get cleared and Sohail hopes his match-winning performance will help him in future.
“I am confident that my performance will help me cement my place in the team,” said Sohail, who added a match-turning 110 runs for the seventh wicket with all-rounder Shahid Afridi who made 61.
Their partnership helped Pakistan recover from a precarious 124-6 to chase down the 247-run target in 49.3 overs. The remaining
matches will be played in Sharjah (December 12 and 14) and Abu Dhabi (December 17 and 19).
Meanwhile, former Pakistan batsman and TV commentator Rameez Raja wants the ICC to quash whispers that Pakistan was
being unfairly targeted in the recent crackdown on illegal bowling actions.
“First Ajmal and now Hafeez…Pakistan’s World Cup buildup has been hit for a six,” Raja said.
“It is okay if you want to get rid of illegal actions but there should not be selective culling.
“The process should be open and explained properly so that fans can understand why some bowlers need to be signalled out,” he added.
"ICC chief executive David Richardson has already defended the move to target bowlers just before the World Cup. “If we decide
that there’s something wrong with the game, why should we wait until after a World Cup?” he had said.
