LAHORE – Pakistan assistant coach Aaqib Javed has defended Pakistan’s strategy in the ongoing World Cup, questioned by greats Imran Khan and Wasim Akram. Imran, Wasim and other former Test players believe that Pakistan can land into trouble against stronger oppositions in the World Cup as they are playing one bowler short in the competition.
But Aaqib believes the team’s inconsistent batting line-up needs a boost. “No team goes in with five specialist bowlers.
What people are forgetting is we’re not playing three specialist bowlers but we have four. Shahid Afridi, despite his all-rounder tag, is a specialist bowler and when we sit down and pick four bowlers, his name is the first we put on the list,” he added. “We then pick an all-rounder, a bowler who can bat and Razzaq comes under that category.” Aaqib said, “An all-rounder’s role is very difficult. You bat at number eight, you bowl four to five overs.
Razzaq is a utility player and he’s a type of batsman who can win you matches that you’ve lost by the time he comes in. It won’t happen daily but you need such people in the team. It also adds depth to the bowling.” Considering the batsmen-heavy playing-eleven, the team’s policy has been to bat first and pile up a big total. However, with dew playing an important role under lights, Aaqib confirmed that the spinners are being trained accordingly.
