Umar Gul: “It’s still early for him”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Umar Gul has admitted that it is too early for Pakistan to regularly pick fast bowler Ihsanullah for ODIs as he doesn’t have enough experience.
The 20-year-old rose to fame during the 2023 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he represented the Multan Sultans and finished as the second-highest wicket-taker.
In the 12 matches he played, he claimed 22 wickets at an average of 15.77 and an economy rate of 7.59.
Following this, he represented Pakistan in four T20Is, where he took six wickets at an average of 18 and an economy rate of 7.28.
He also made his ODI debut against New Zealand earlier in 2023, but went wicketless in that match.
Other than that one ODI against the Black Caps, Ihsanullah has not featured in the 50-over format for Pakistan.
In Gul’s opinion, the Matta native would benefit by getting more experience at the domestic level.
“It’s still early for him,” the 40-year-old from Peshawar told Cricket Pakistan.
Ihsanullah wasn’t picked for Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka, which they won 2-0, or the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan, which the men in green won 3-0.
Pakistan are now playing in the Asia Cup, where they have beaten Nepal by 238 runs, shared one point apiece with India after their match was washed out, and thumped Bangladesh by seven wickets. However, their unbeaten run was stopped when they lost to India in the Super Four stage by 228 runs.
The men in green will be looking to turn things around when they take on Sri Lanka on September 14 in Colombo.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan.
Travelling reserve: Tayyab Tahir