Wasim Akram: “If there is a situation where we lose 2 early wickets, then Hafeez and Malik can anchor”
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Legendary Pakistan left-arm seamer Wasim Akram said veteran all-rounders Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez are the national team’s anchor players.
Hafeez scored 85 runs in six matches during the T20 World Cup at an average of 28.33 and a strike-rate of 163.46.
Malik, meanwhile, accumulated 100 runs in six games, which included the fastest T20 World Cup fifty by a Pakistan player, at an average of 50 and a strike-rate of 181.81.
As for the T20 series against Bangladesh, Malik featured in two games but didn’t score any runs, while Hafeez pulled out of the tour.
Wasim Akram "I feel that the presence of Shoaib Malik will have a positive effect. If there is a situation where we lose 2 early wickets, then Hafeez & Malik can anchor – remember in T20 games, you cannot hit each ball for a 4 or 6 so you need to plan ahead" #T20WorldCup #Cricket
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) October 22, 2021
“I feel that the presence of Shoaib Malik will have a positive effect. If there is a situation where we lose 2 early wickets, then Hafeez and Malik can anchor – remember in T20 games, you cannot hit each ball for a 4 or 6 so you need to plan ahead,” Wasim was quoted as saying by Saj Sadiq on Twitter.
Pakistan won the first Test against Bangladesh by eight wickets.
They will now be looking to win the series 2-0 when the second Test begins in Dhaka on Saturday.
Pakistan squad for Bangladesh Test series: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Bilal Asif, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi, Zahid Mahmood