Waqas aims to be back in international cricket

KARACHI: Left-arm international pacer Waqas Maqsood on Monday said that he has got a very good platform in the shape of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and is determined to deliver and stage a comeback in Pakistan team.

“Every player’s main focus is to deliver at the domestic level and play for Pakistan. I am playing all sorts of cricket. I played one game for Pakistan and got two wickets. I am working hard to stage a comeback in Pakistan team,” the 32-year-old Faisalabad-born Waqas told a virtual news conference here at the end of the second day’s play of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (first-class) game between Sindh and Central Punjab here at the National Stadium.

Waqas played one T20 International for Pakistan against New Zealand at Dubai on November 4, 2018, in which he captured two wickets. Waqas on Monday got 2-49 while bowling with the new ball. Waqas said that the new points system motivates both bowlers and batsmen.

“Yes, bonus points motivate bowlers and batsmen. We wanted to get a bonus point as we aimed to bowl Sindh out below 200. Earlier on, we bowled well but in the end we could not get a wicket and credit goes to Sindh who played well,” Waqas said.

He said that bowling with disciplined line helps bowlers to get wickets on this track. “The wicket is not that easy for batting. If you bowl consistently, you can succeed as we did in the beginning. We bowled with great discipline and all bowlers bowled well as a unit. The partnership between Fawad Alam and Tabish worked for Sindh but they still are a few runs behind us and tomorrow when new ball will come we will try to get them out as quickly as possible,” Waqas said.

Meanwhile, Sindh’s experienced batsman Fawad Alam said that the wicket is difficult for batting. “The pitch is good for bowling and the ball is not coming on to the bat. Runs are also there if batsmen take time at the crease but I will say that scoring runs on this track is not that easy,” Fawad told a virtual news conference. “When we saw the pitch we thought it would be a low-scoring game but those who play well and show some stability will succeed,” he said. “The match is on still. It is fifty-fifty. We have made a good comeback,” Fawad said.