Dubai: In the absence of pacer Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf is the senior pacer in the Pakistan lineup currently while as youngster Naseem Shah has been making headlines.
Afridi and Waseem junior were ruled out of the Asia cup before then tournament started while as another pacer Shahnawaz Dahani, has been advised rest for after pikcing up a suspected a side strain injury during the Hong Kong match on Friday.
However, such is the depth of Pakistan’s pace bowling arsenal that despite these setbacks, the country’s pacers have rocked Dubai and Sharjah conditions with their sizzling bouncers, scorching yorkers and wily cutters.
Naseem Shah has been a revelation. He accounted for KL Rahul in his maiden over in T20I cricket last Sunday and uprooted the off-stumps of a dangerous-looking Suryakumar Yadav. On Friday, he sent two Hong Kong batters back to the pavilion in a space of three balls, which provided a solid start to Pakistan’s defence of 194. Hong Kong, eventually, were bowled out for 38 as Pakistan recorded their biggest T20I win in terms of runs.
Haris Rauf, now the most experienced bowler in this Pakistan pace attack, is looking forward to a partnership with Naseem.
“I am really happy with the performance of my bowling line-up,” Haris told PCB Digital ahead of Pakistan’s Super 4 clash against India on Sunday in Dubai.
“We kept it tight in the first match against India and got a thumping win against Hong Kong. We will try to keep this momentum in the Super 4 stage of the tournament”.
“Bowling partnerships are very important in this format of the game and I am really enjoying bowling with the young sensation Naseem Shah. Because of his searing pace, he keeps the opponents on the backfoot, which gives edge to the other bowlers.”
Although Babar Azam is due to some runs, this sets Pakistan up well for the match against India, and Haris is confident about his team’s chances on Sunday.
“India-Pakistan games are always high intensity matches and we are confident to produce a competitive clash on Sunday. It was a nail-biter last Sunday, which went into the last over but 4 September will be a new date and we are hopeful to cross the line this time in Dubai.”