‘England series a good opportunity for youngsters’

LAHORE: Former Pakistan allrounder Azhar Mahmood said on Tuesday that the England series is an opportunity for young Pakistan players to make a name for themselves at the international stage.

Mahmood, who will be part of BBC’s Test match commentary team, in an interview said said Babar Azam’s stint at county cricket with Somerset last year, being in a different environment and sharing the dressing room with different people, had helped him grow.

About Imam-ul-Haq he said people always talked about relation with his uncle, the great Inzamam-ul-Haq, but Imam was doing so well on his own.

Mahmood said Pakistan were missing the retired Mohammad Amir, a fantastic player who England cricket fans knew well. “He is in the squad for the T20s but has stopped playing Test cricket because he does not want to put the toll on his body, which is fair enough,” he said.

Mahmood said Pakistan have good enough resources in Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi. “At just 17 years old, Naseem is a very exciting fast bowler who everybody, rightly so, is talking about. He can bowl at speeds in excess of 90mph, has a quick bouncer and can swing the ball both ways,” he added.

The former all-rounder said that Pakistan also have a good coaching team led by ex-internationals. Misbah-ul-Haq is the head coach and chief selector. They have Younis Khan as the batting coach, Waqar Younis as bowling coach and Mushtaq Ahmed helping the spinners.

Mahmood said whenever Pakistan came to England they got massive support from the crowd. “Unfortunately, this time they won’t get that because of the COVId-19,” he said.