Gary Kirsten: “You had the challenge of some of the most fearsome fast bowlers around. I really loved the contest with Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami”

Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani

Pakistan white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten admitted that the Pakistan quartet of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami were four of the “most fearsome fast bowlers around”.

All four of them could bowl at scorching speeds, swung the ball a long way, and had vicious bouncers in their arsenal.

Looking back on his cricketing career while playing for South Africa, Kirsten acknowledged some of the “incredibly tough contests” he had when facing them.

“I always enjoyed batting up front in Pakistan because I felt that the wickets were probably playing at their best with the new ball. But, then you had the challenge of some of the most fearsome fast bowlers around. I really loved the contest with Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami. Those were all incredibly tough contests and I enjoyed going to play cricket in Pakistan. It was a good experience as a batsman,” he said on the PCB Podcast.

The Pakistan team recently played a five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which concluded as a 2-2 draw.

Following that, they beat Ireland 2-1 in a three-match T20I series.

Pakistan’s next assignment will see them play four T20Is against England from May 22 to May 30.

After this, the men in green will be involved in the T20 World Cup, which will be played in the West Indies and United States of America from June 1 to 29.

Pakistan’s first T20 World Cup game will be against the United States of America in Dallas on June 6.

Pakistan Squad for Ireland and England T20I Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan

MORE PAKISTAN CRICKET NEWS: Strong top order, Mohammad Hafeez picks Pakistan’s top four in T20Is