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| September 28, 2002 | Saturday | Rajab 20, 1423 |
I am going to change things: Nasir
KARACHI, Sept 27: The reappointed manager of Pakistan cricket team, Brig Khawaja Nasir said Friday that his mission will be to boost morale of boys and unite them into a fighting unit for the next month’s Test series against Australia.
“Currently the morale of the team is down after recent defeats but I am going to change the things” Brigadier Nasir said prior to his departure for Colombo to take charge of the team.
Pakistan will take on Australia in the opening Test of three-match series at Colombo’s Saravanamuttu Stadium from Oct 3, while the next two matches will be played in Sharjah.
He dispelled the impressions that Australian would whitewash Pakistan 3-0 in absence of seasoned stars Saeed Anwar, Wasim Akram, Inzmam-ul-Haq and Yousuf Youhana. “It will be challenging task and real test for me. But I will ask the boys to go out there and fight it out.
“Pakistan cricketers are capable of doing much better what they have done in Morocco, Nairobi and ICC Champions Trophy.” he asserted.
Nasir, who has replaced Yawar Saeed as the manager said Pakistan team’s main cause of trouble is its batting. “This is a time for new boys to grab this opportunity and prove their worth and potential” he said.
He admitted that Pakistan team lacked experience. “But they got requisite talent and this is the time they should prove it”, he maintained.
He said Misbah-ul-Haq had developed into a solid batsman and his string of good scores made him the batting mainstay of batting of the team at the moment.
He said Younis Khan will be more responsible after being appointed vice-captain. “He (Younis) is disciplined and methodical”, Nasir pointed out.
Brig. Nasir said Faisal Iqbal, Taufiq Umer, Imran Farhat, Hasan Raza got great potential and it was time for them to deliver.
He said Hasan struck two hundreds against Sri Lanka A as a captain during Sri Lankan tour. His recent century against touring Sri Lanka A at Faisalabad earned him a recall in the national team.
Brig Nasir said that as he had served the national team in the past, he enjoys a good rapport and communication with the boys.
He was optimistic that despite all the recent results and problems in the team, boys will perform better.—APP
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