Wahab hopes to become key all-rounder

NAPIER, New Zealand: In the first two games of the World Cup Wahab Riaz failed to really make his presence felt.
And then he sparkled on the Gabba wicket with a four-wicket haul and that too after hitting a game-changing 54 off 46 balls – his first fifty in One-day Internationals.
Wahab’s all-round performance in a 20-run win against Zimbabwe last Sunday helped Pakistan stay alive in the World Cup. And it also raised hopes that the left-arm pacer could finally be becoming an all-rounder.
But Wahab made it clear that he cannot be counted as an all-rounder on the basis of his showing in just one match.
“The fact that my knock came in a must-win World Cup match makes it my best innings,” he told reporters here at McLean Park on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s Pool B game against UAE.
“It was much-needed so I had to give support initially and then hit out at the end. I am happy that I played my part in both batting and bowling.”
Wahab, 29, stressed that he wants to transform himself into a valuable all-rounder but added he needed time to do that.
“Obviously, I cannot become an all-rounder overnight and with one or two good innings. The team management has worked really hard on me and I am encouraged to bat in the nets, so I am trying to achieve that with resolve and determination,” he said.
Wahab has been unable to establish himself as a key all-rounder even though many expected great things from him after his impressive five-wicket haul against India the semi-final of World Cup 2011 in Mohali.
But Wahab said that the fact that Pakistan play all their home games on low and slow wickets in UAE makes the job tough for fast bowlers to take wickets.
“I think after Mohali we have played most of our cricket in the UAE,” he said.
“In the UAE, spinners did well and we had Saeed Ajmal as the number one spinner.
“Ajmal is not here, so we each have more responsibility and everyone is trying to play his part,” he added.