Former Pakistan speedster and one of the finest bowlers of his generation, Waqar Younis feels that it will be very foolish to write off Pakistan in the 2019 World Cup after their heavy defeat at the hands of the Caribbean in their first official match of the tournament. Meanwhile, it won’t be right to compare this team with the 1992 World Cup winning team who made a sensational turnaround to lift the title after a mediocre start to the tournament.
“You have to remember that this World Cup is a very long tournament. There is a lot of cricket still to be played and it would be foolish to write off this Pakistan side after their defeat to the West Indies,” wrote Waqar in a column for the ICC.
“You have to give credit to the West Indies for the way they used the short ball to pepper the Pakistani batsmen,” he said referring to Pakistan’s 105 all out after they were asked to bat first.
“Andre Russell, in particular, was outstanding with those first three overs that he bowled at the top of the order. He may have only taken a couple of wickets, but it was his short-pitched barrage that showed the way for the rest of their attack.”
Over the years Pakistan has been one of the most inconsistent teams in any big tournament. While they have the potential to beat any top team on their day but can also lose to the likes of Afghanistan and Bangladesh. However, Waqar Younis feels that there is no point in harping over their unpredictability.
“A lot has been said before about Pakistan’s record in the past, the unpredictable nature of this side.
“They lost heavily in their first game in 1992 and bounced back to win that tournament after all. But we cannot really dwell on what happened 27 years ago. Winning the 2019 tournament is going to take some doing this time around.
“A defeat like that damages the confidence and we need to make sure that we take our time to try and bounce back, think positive and turn the ship around.”