Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra, who has turned a cricket broadcaster, also pointed out the one weakness in the Pakistan playing XI and it is not their thin pace attack.
Pakistan cricket team are ready to take on the Asian giants like India and Sri Lanka at the Asia Cup 2022. Their first clash will be vs long-time arch-rivals Pakistan on August 28 (Sunday). The Babar Azam-led side received a huge blow a week ago when they got to know that their ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi won’t take part in the multi-nation tournament that begins on August 27 (Saturday). Today, that in August 26, Pakistan suffered another setback as their pace bowler Mohammad Wasim injured his back during nets session a day before and was sent for a MRI scan. It is not certain that he will be available for selection for the first match vs India on Sunday.
If he is missing out, it will further dent their bowling attack. Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra, who has turned a cricket broadcaster, also pointed out the one weakness in the Pakistan playing XI and it is not their thin pace attack. It is their spin bowling attack. Chopra feels that Pakistan do not have a big spinner in their side. Shadab Khan, the leg-spinner, is good but he is not of the same quality of Rashid Khan or Yuzvendra Chahal, said Chopra on his YouTube channel.
“Firstly, they don’t have a wicket-taking spinner. They have a lot of spin options but who will pick up wickets? All of them are restrictive. You can see Shadab Khan, he did well in the PSL, but if you see the recent international numbers, he has not taken wickets even in ODIs. He is not your wicket-taker, he is not Yuzi Chahal or Rashid Khan,” Chopra said. He further said that there is Usman Qadir in the squad but he is too young and lacks experience.
“Usman Qadir can pick up wickets but he is too young. He has played very little cricket as well. Nawaz is also the same story – bowls restrictively,” said Chopra.