Babar Azam: “Ihsan and Zaman are the two very good additions to our pace attack”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has identified Ihsanullah and Zaman Khan as two good choices for the national team’s pace attack.
Currently, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah are Pakistan’s go-to fast bowlers in all three formats, while Haris Rauf is also one of their first-choice speedsters in limited overs cricket.
However, there are a number of rising stars waiting in the wings for their opportunity to cement their spot in the side, with Ihsanullah and Zaman being among them.
Both have played for Pakistan in the past, but Ihsanullah is currently recovering from an elbow injury while Zaman is part of the reserve group for the ongoing 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup in India.
Azam confirmed that he sees plenty of potential in them, which indicates that they could get more chances coming their way in the future.
“Ihsan and Zaman are the two very good additions to our pace attack,” he was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
Azam is currently captaining Pakistan in the World Cup and has scored 282 runs in eight matches, which includes four fifties, at an average of 40.28.
The men in green started their campaign with back-to-back wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing four consecutive games to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
With the team on the verge of elimination, Pakistan kept their World Cup semi-final hopes alive after beating Bangladesh and New Zealand.
They will now go up against England on November 11 in Kolkata.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup: Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali