ISLAMABAD: Former cricketer Saeed Ajmal believes that Pakistan was yet to find a proper replacement of leg-spinner Yasir Shah in Test cricket, saying the Swabi-born cricketer was the top performer in the longer format of the game.
Yasir didn’t deserve to be dropped from the recently-concluded Zimbabwe Test series if he was fit. “No one has been able to replace Yasir in Test cricket till now. I think Yasir Shah still has two or three years of cricket left. He should play if he is fit. He is your top performer in Test cricket and you can’t drop him like that,” cricketpakistan.com.pk quoted him as saying.
“Babar Azam and Azhar Ali also said that we play only five or six Tests in a year, so how can we afford to give chances to new players as we already have a separate set of Test players. If there are only six Tests in a year and you rest Yasir for three of them, then what will he do?” he questioned.
Ajmal also said that it was too early to judge left-arm spinner Nauman Ali’s true potential as he is yet to face a team ranked above Pakistan in Test ranking.
“We will find out about Nauman Ali’s ability when he will bowl against a top team. It is different ball game to bowl in Australia, England and New Zealand as compared to Pakistan,” he said.
“Nauman bowls with a little more pace and he will be successful in Asian conditions. You can’t be successful by bowling with flight in Asia, so you need to bowl with more pace as a spinner. Whereas, in Australia or England, you need to give loop to the ball in order to generate spin. Nauman bowls wicket to wicket and doesn’t generate a lot of spin. So, he needs to work on that,” he said.
To a question, Ajmal said left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir does not have the right to demand the axing of Pakistan’s head coach Misbahul Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis.
“From what he is saying, it looks like he was dealt unfairly. But I don’t know what happened between him and team management behind the scenes. He is saying that he will only play for Pakistan after Misbah and Waqar leave their post as head coach and bowling coach,” said Ajmal.
“It is not right for a player to ask for the removal of a coach. Amir should focus on his performance and cement his place before making such demands,” he said.
Ajmal also said that the left-arm pacer should not change his mind and stick with his decision to retire from international cricket. “Amir had given his retirement out of desperation but now he is thinking of coming back. If he has made his decision to retire, then he should stick to it,” he said.
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