Waqar Younis: “I am very hopeful that he will deliver in this Test and in the upcoming 3rd Test also”
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Pakistan bowling coach Waqar Younis is backing Test captain Azhar Ali to shine in the second and third Tests against England.
Waqar’s support for Azhar comes after the 35-year-old struggled with the bat in the first Test against England in Manchester, which Pakistan lost by three wickets.
Azhar scored a duck in the first innings and followed that up with just 18 runs in the second innings.
Despite his disappointing performance, Waqar is confident that Azhar will get back to his best soon.
“Only Azhar can answer that but being captain and batting in the top order is not easy, he has been captaining for a while now,” Waqar was quoted as saying by PakPassion. “When you have a bad match then it is highlighted – your brain is working overtime when that happens as I know that because I have been captain myself.
“You have responsibilities and you have to handle a lot of things and then you have to focus on your batting as well. If we had won this match, his performance would not have been highlighted and he would have got encouragement because he would have won a match.
“He’s a seasoned player with 80 odd Tests, he has scored in England as well and he knows how to come out of these situations, and this is not the first time this situation has happened for him and I am very hopeful that he will deliver in this Test and in the upcoming 3rd Test also.”
The second Test between England and Pakistan will begin on Thursday in Southampton.