KARACHI: Pakistan bowling coach Waqar Younis on Tuesday defended the decision to recall Mohammad Amir for the ongoing England tour and categorically stated that the experienced left-arm paceman is a vital cog in the team’s future plans.

The 28-year-old Amir — who had initially anno­unced his unavailability due to the birth of his second daughter — was on Monday inducted into the already expanded national squad by chief selector-cum-head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, predictably for the three Twenty20 Inter­nationals that follow the three-match Test series against England.

Reminiscing the recent past when Amir declared his availability only for white-ball internationals on the eve of the Test series in Australia last year, Waqar told a Pakistan Cricket Board online media conference that he prefers moving on rather than brood on the episode that upset him for a while then.

“What’s the point worrying about that now?” Waqar, who formed a much feared new-ball partnership with Wasim Akram during the 1990s, asked from Pakistan’s base at the County Ground in Derby. “He [Amir] made a decision to quit Test cricket at a time when Pakistan needed him because of his experience. I think Amir is in our plans for the future because he’s a match-winner and there’s the [T20] World Cup next year. To have him back is a sign of positivity because the youngsters will learn from Amir.

“I see this [tour] as the ideal chance to assess all our [bowling] resources. We have abundance of fast bowlers in the current squad and it’s a good thing to carry into the England Tests. Moreover, this isn’t a matter of one series but the future commitments too, as there are back-to-back World Cups coming up from 2021 onwards.

Slow, sluggish pitches in England surprise legendary pacer

“But let me make it clear that no bowler, or for that matter any cricketer, is indispensable for the team. My perspective about players choosing one [or two] format over others is different because if a bowler is fit, strong and loves taking wickets, he can play all formats,” he stressed.

Waqar termed preparations more than satisfactory and said the squad’s early arrival has given ample time to the backroom staff to work without hassles.

“As we all know the Covid-19 situation complicated everything that matters in life. No cricket over the past four months has resulted in rustiness as far as players are concerned. But having said that, I think we have time on our side to get preparations [for the Test matches] in the best possible scenario,” Waqar, who bagged 789 international wickets, including 373 in Tests, remarked. “The backroom team is making sure our training and physical fitness sessions are well utilised. On top of that the boys are playing intra-squad games in order to gain maximum benefit in match-like situations.

“Head coach [Misbah-ul-Haq], Younis Khan [batting coach] and Mushy [spin-bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed] are all as excited as I am to be involved with the Pakistan team. The coming weeks will be challenging since England are no pushovers and in home conditions they are tough opponents. However, our record in England over the past several Test series has been excellent [2-2 in 2016 under Misbah and 1-1 in 2018 when Sarfaraz Ahmed led Pakistan] and that is a heartening sign,” Waqar pointed out. “I am sure we are not going to let our supporters down. We will try to make them proud of the Pakistan team with our performances.”

Commenting on the England-West Indies series, the former Pakistan skipper said the nature of pitches this time is quite unusual. “What is surprising from my experience of playing many years in England that the pitches are much slower and sluggish.

“The character of pitches has obviously changed. Both Southampton and Man­chester had pitches that were far from the typical English type. I mean there was no lateral movement to speak of. The ball swung a bit but there was no hint of reverse swing,” Waqar noted. “The effects of saliva ban are a good reason for this. We’ll be monitoring how the pitch pans out in the final Test [at Old Trafford]. It won’t be much different I guess when Pakistan take on England but the conditions might change because of fluctuating weather. Normally August can be dry and hot in England.”

Waqar further observed that it was too early to predict the makeup of the playing XI for the first Test in Manchester on Aug 5.

“We may go in with two spinners but we are looking at all options and then decide our [bowling] combination. The ban on saliva wasn’t much felt in the first two Tests between England and West Indies. That to me was a bit surprising. Frankly speaking, I had doubts as to what will actually happen to the bowlers not having the advantage of it [saliva], which of course is habitual.

“Being a fast bowler myself I certainly enjoyed using the saliva. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, life isn’t the same. The ban is working well because the Duke ball [being used in England series] is harder and it can be shined through sweat as well.”

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2020