LAHORE: Leg-spinner Yasir Shah on Tuesday said googly will be his main weapon in the upcoming Test series against England which commences with the first Test at Old Trafford, Manchester on Aug 5.

Talking to reporters from Worcester on a video-link, Yasir, 35, said that he was working hard and in the guidance of spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmad, is trying to further improve the skill of bowling googly.

Yasir said the Pakistan team had been practicing really hard for the last one week in England to get better prepared for the tough series.

Yasir, whose international career started with a bang when he earned the milestone of capturing the fastest 100 and 200 wickets in Test cricket history, admitted that in the past he failed to maintain his rhythm and true form but he is confident that the series against England will give him a new lease of life and would prove to be a big boost in his career .

Yasir, belonging from Swabi, has played 39 Tests with 213 wickets to his name at an average of 30.52. He negated the impression of former cricketers that the Pakistan team was inexperienced and it would be difficult for it to win against England.

He said seasoned batsmen like Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Sarfaraz Ahmad and talented young lot of Babar Azam, Abid Ali and Shah Masood all had the potential to give tough time to the hosts with their resolute and prolific batting.

Yasir further said pacer Mohammad Abbas has a good experience of English conditions and pitches and along with newcomers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Nasim Shah will form a formidable fast bowling attack.

He admitted that though without cricket fans it would not look good to play cricket in an empty stadium but it is essential due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said the spinners would also get support from the pitches, but a decision to go with two spinners or one would be taken after observing the playing conditions before the start of the match.

To a question, Yasir said that good and bad times are part of everyone’s career and he has done hard work in the last 18 months to bounce back in the international cricket.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2020