KARACHI: After a fighting show by the bowlers against Zimbabwe, the role of Pakistan batsmen will be crucial in steering the team to the World Cup quarter-finals, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan said on Monday.

“Our bowlers particularly Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Irfan bowled Pakistan to an exciting victory over Zimbabwe,” Shaharyar said in an interview.

“The bowlers have given our team a new lease of life in that do-or-die game [against Zimbabwe],” he commented, applauding the bowlers for defending a small total of 235 in Brisbane.

He said like tens of millions of Pakistan fans, he was also worried about team’s overall performances.

Pakistan face the UAE in Napier on Wednesday followed by the clash with mighty South Africa in Auckland on Saturday. The green-shirts’ last pool match will be against fast-rising Ireland in Adelaide on March 15.

The batsmen’s performance, Shaharyar reckoned, will be of great significance in making it to the knockout rounds.

“Ahmed Shehzad, Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood must support their captain Misbah-ul-Haq [with solid batting performance],” he stressed. “We need big innings from our batsmen, without this it would be very difficult for Pakistan to reach the quarter-finals.”

The PCB chief hoped that experienced all-rounder Shahid Afridi would show his magic with the bat and ball in the coming games.

“Batting is a big worry for Pakistan. However, the [next] match against the UAE is a big opportunity for our batsmen to raise their confidence,” he remarked. “They need a big win against the UAE to improve the net run-rate, which in the end can help us make the quarter-finals,” he added.

Shaharyar reiterated that as per his opinion, after Nasir Jamshed’s failure in the West Indies and Zimbabwe matches, Sarfraz Ahmed should open the innings.

Pakistan need a specialist wicket-keeper/batsman and Sarfraz can play that role, he said.

Misbah, however, has said that Sarfraz does not fit in the scheme of things in the present situation.

Several former Pakistan captains, experts and analysts have vociferously demanded Sarfraz’s inclusion in the playing eleven after makeshift gloveman Umar Akmal blundered time and again in the India and West Indies matches, dropping several sitters on crunch moments.

Published in Dawn March 3rd , 2015

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