MisYou also missed by Pakistan bowlers
dubai — It has been eight days already and while the Pakistan batsmen have coped okay with the absences of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan on the Test arena, the duo have been missed when it comes to the bowling.
Apart from being the bulwarks of the Pakistan middle-order, with a combined 15,321 runs across 193 Test matches between them, it is their 17 years of rich experience that the two brought to the table.
But that experience is not just confined to their batting alone. The pair, both captains during their playing days, had played massive roles in guiding their bowling attack as well.
These two elder statesmen have had the ability to read and dissect a batsman and plot their dismissal. That comes with years and years of experience and these two old hats have been missed by a side captained by the young Sarfraz Ahmed.
MisYou were missed in Abu Dhabi, where Pakistan lost by 21 runs and their absence has been glaring here in Dubai as well, which Pakistan are in danger of losing. Leg spinner Yasir Shah, who has had the bulk of the workload, felt their absence while bowling across these two Tests.
“Misbah left and Younis left as well so, when senior players are with you, they motivate you a bit more. They have so much experience they tell you also how a certain batsman plays and how to bowl to him,” said Shah.
But the 31-year-old reckoned they will be able to cope with that, along the way.
“But we will cover it slowly and we’ll be fine,” he added.
It has been a superhuman effort from Shah, who has bowled 139.5 overs across three innings and is the highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps so far.
Shah sent down 55.5 overs in Sri Lanka’s first innings, that adding to the 57 and 27 overs in Abu Dhabi.
And come to think of it, Shah almost wouldn’t have been picked on fitness grounds. “I probably haven’t bowled this much in a stretch before but I’m ok, the body is going,” Shah said of his marathon spells.
“This is what we have to do, to bowl. I always try when I play for the team that I do well, that I bowl well,” he added.
james@khaleejtimes.com