Umar Gul raring to have a go at England

Fit-again pacer promises to lead from the front in ‘tough’ ODI series

SOUTHAMTON, England: They say a fast bowler becomes useless once his knees go bad. But Umar Gul doesn’t buy it.

The seasoned Pakistan pacer, who has recovered from a serious knee injury, returned to the national line-up after almost 17 months last Thursday with an impressive haul of 3-23 in a 255-run One-day International triumph against Ireland at Malahide cricket ground.

Now the 32-year-old is raring to have a go against England in a five-mach ODI series which rolls into action in Southampton on Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s a tough series because England are a very strong team but I’m confident and am looking forward to leading the attack from the front as the team’s senior bowler,” Gul told ‘The News’ on Sunday.

Gul is almost certain to be a part of Pakistan’s pace battery with Mohammad Amir in the one-day series against England as skipper Azhar Ali sees him as one of his trump cards in English conditions.

It’s a huge turnaround for Gul, whom many rejected as spent force after a career-threatening injury ruled him out of action back in 2013.

Once Pakistan’s chief wicket-taker in all three formats, Gul struggled to find selectors’ attention. He did make a couple of comebacks after successfully undergoing knee surgery in Australia back in 2013 but was discarded because of indifferent form.

However, the script has changed for Gul who used his hiatus from international cricket to regain his fitness, form and rhythm.

“Failing to find a place in the national team, I was free in Pakistan. I knew that Pakistan were going on what is a long tour of England and felt that I might finally get a chance.

“I worked hard to keep myself prepared so that I was fit and in rhythm whenever the call-up came. I played in the Ramzan Cup in Karachi because no matter how much training you do, you have to play matches. I bowled with good rhythm and that gave me confidence that I will do well whenever I get a chance to play for Pakistan again.”

Gul’s chance came when the national selectors picked him ahead of another injury-prone pacer — Mohammad Irfan — for the one-day matches against Ireland and England.

Despite the fact that he has played 127 ODI and has taken 167 wickets, Gul admitted that he was under pressure in his comeback game against Ireland.

“Yes, there was pressure. I was coming back after more than 15 months and as a senior bowler there were lot of expectations,” said Gul, whose last international game before his outing at Malahide was an ODI against Bangladesh in April last year in Dhaka. He was axed again after failing to impress, finishing with figures of 0-53.

“But I was also confident and it helped as I bowled with good rhythm and played my part in the team’s win.”

Gul is now hoping to give his best against England.

“The way I bowled in the last match has added to my confidence and I am looking forward to giving my best against England,” he said.

“The team’s morale is high as we got a big boost after beating Ireland with such a big margin. If we play with the same zeal, I’m sure that we can achieve good results against England.”

Gul is buoyed by the fact that in the past he almost always managed to extract good assistance from English pitches and conditions.

“I have bowled well in England in the past. Now as the senior I hope to take along the junior pacers and together we will hopefully play a big role in England.”