Azhar Mahmood: “We cannot prepare spinning pitches in Pakistan because we don’t have the quality of spinners to take 20 wickets in a match”
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Pakistan assistant coach Azhar Mahmood has admitted that the country lacks quality spinners that can capable of taking 20 wickets in a Test match.
The men in green have struggled to produce any high-profile spinners lately, while many of the current ones they do have aren’t performing to the best of their abilities.
As a result of this, Mahmood conceded that spin-friendly pitches can’t be prepared in Pakistan.
“We cannot prepare spinning pitches in Pakistan because we don’t have the quality of spinners to take 20 wickets in a match,” he was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In the recent two-match Test series against Bangladesh, Pakistan only had one specialist spinner in Abrar Ahmed. However, he was included in the playing XI for the first Test and the men in green subsequently utilised Salman Ali Agha and Saim Ayub as their spinners.
Abrar did feature in the second Test, but only took one wicket at an average of 123.
Pakistan failed to impress throughout the Test series and were whitewashed 2-0.
Following the Bangladesh series, Abrar played in the Champions One-Day Cup, which was a domestic 50-over tournament held in Faisalabad, and claimed five wickets in four games for the Stallions at an average of 33.
The Pakistan team will be back in action next week when they take on England in a three-Test series from October 7 to 28 in Multan and Rawalpindi.
Pakistan Squad for 1st Test against England: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Shaheen Shah Afridi.
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