DUBAI: Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed Tuesday said he is concerned at the wicket-less spell of his strike bowler Mohammad Aamir, as his side geared up to take on arch-rivals India in the Asia Cup.
Left-arm pacer Aamir has not been amongst the wickets in recent times and his skipper was asked about it in the pre-match press conference.
Sarfraz was also asked about Virat Kohli’s absence but he felt that India may not miss their captain in these conditions. “As a team not to have your regular captain is a factor. There could be a difference in the frame of mind. But they have enough players who have done well for them, and the conditions are also the same for them. If conditions are adverse then a world class player makes a difference,” Sarfraz said on the eve of the big game.
Kohli has been rested for the continental tournament after the long tour of England. When asked about the challenge of playing in the extreme weather conditions, he said, “It is difficult in this weather and it should have been even for all the teams. I don’t know what the ACC thought behind the schedule. I have not spoken to anyone about it.” Pakistan kicked off their campaign with a comprehensive win over Hong Kong, but India are going to be a different ball game altogether. “Pressure is always there but we deal with it by telling ourselves that we should have the same intensity for every match. We take these matches normally but there is hype everywhere else, it does affect but we play it as just any other match.”
Sarfraz refused to call the game India’s batting versus Pakistan’s bowling. “India might have prepared for our bowling, we have planned for their bowling too.
We are prepared and will execute our plans in match. I don’t think it’s India’s batting versus our bowling, we have good batting too. “They have got back-to-back matches but their schedule has started later than others. They would be under pressure because their performance coming into this tournament was not good.” Pakistan on the other hand have defeated Hong Kong by eight wickets to make a positive start going into the game against India on Wednesday. (PTI)
