KARACHI: While hailing Pakistan’s tenacious victory over Sri Lanka, former Test star Sadiq Mohammad has urged Sarfraz Ahmed’s charges to head into Wednesday’s Champions Trophy semi-final against England with renewed confidence.

In an interview with Dawn on Tuesday, the youngest of Mohammad siblings advised Pakistan to bat first in a bid to change strategy if Sarfraz were to win the toss despite the fact that England are a far superior side in all departments of the game.

“I think the conditions in Cardiff would matter marginally unless there is a heavy cloud cover at start of play. The ball tends to swing a lot but I think Pakistan shouldn’t fear that much,” Sadiq said. “They must not fear England otherwise the game will be over sooner than later. I have noticed that our boys tend to drop shoulders when things start to go drastically against them. And if England post over 300 batting first then it would spell trouble for Pakistan since historically we are not that great at chasing big totals. Remember, the side batting second will always be under pressure.”

Commenting on Pakistan’s performance in the must-win fixture against Sri Lanka, Sadiq lauded the way Sarfraz handled the situation in difficult circumstances when all seemed lost.

“Sarfraz I thought displayed tremendous courage and determination in the face of adversity. He may have been fortunate given the fact he was dropped twice and escaped being run out on several occasions. But overall, he was a man of mission who was not going to give in easily like most of this team-mates,” Sadiq observed.

“Mohammad Amir was simply brilliant as well and his calm approach was a key element that ultimately saw Pakistan win. The partnership between Sarfraz and Amir not only turned the tide but also gave team a lot of confidence for the big clash against England.

“Newcomers like Fakhar Zaman and Fahim Ashraf also showed great potential.”

Sadiq believed Pakistan should not tinker with their line-up for the England game. “We tend to press the panic button quickly if certain players don’t perform to expectations. The think tank may be contemplating making a change or two at this point. My theory is retain the same XI that played against Sri Lanka because the combination won the match on Monday.”

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2017