Azhar identifies gap in local and international players

LAHORE: Former Test captain Azhar Ali has said there exists a huge gap between Pakistan’s first-class cricket and international cricket.

The 36-year-old Azhar along with 24 other cricketers is currently participating in a one-month-long camp at the National High-Performance Center (NHPC) in Lahore.

“It’s obvious we need to cover a lot of gap between first-class and international cricket,” he said while talking to reporters in Lahore.

“But patience is the key while forming an opinion regarding players as they should be awarded full opportunity at the highest level to prove themselves,” he added.

Azhar is working on his shortcomings with NHPC batting coach Mohammad Yousuf. “We are benefitting from the coaching of Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf. It is a good opportunity to learn from their experience. Faheem Ashraf’s batting also improved after working with Mohammad Yousuf in the High-Performance Center,” he added.

“There were a few things I identified during the South African series that I needed to work on. There is no domestic cricket going on right now, so this is a perfect chance for us to work on our weaknesses,” he maintained.

Azhar has backed Pakistan’s limited-overs team to do well in South Africa as they are scheduled to play three ODIs and four T20Is next month.