Former great off-spinner of Pakistan cricket team Saqlain Mushtaq has said with reference to the national team’s tour of England that the conditions of Southampton and Manchester are in favor of Pakistan.
According to a report in Dawn newspaper, Saqlain Mushtaq, who was recently appointed as the head of International Players Development at the PCB’s High Performance Center, said that the tour of West Indies and Pakistan teams is a big step towards revival of England cricket.
The former off-spinner said: “There is no doubt that this time is not only very difficult for the game but the Code-19 has changed lives all over the world.”
“In these difficult circumstances, West Indies and Pakistan are going to make history by visiting England for the cricket series.”
“The ICC and the England and Wales Cricket Board should appreciate these steps,” he said.
Saqlain, who has extensive experience playing cricket in England, said the tour time and conditions were in favor of the Pakistani team.
“Southampton and Manchester are expected to be the venues for the Test and T20 series, where I think the conditions will be favorable for the Pakistani team at the moment,” he said.
“The ban means that England’s two main bowlers, James Anderson and Stuart Broad, will not be as influential as they used to be,” said Saqlain Mushtaq, referring to legislation to prevent bowlers from tampering with the ball. It used to be a problem for batsmen in the past.
He said that Pakistani batsmen should take full advantage of this.
Regarding the England players, he said, “Moin Ali and Adil Rashid, who have just performed in the World Cup, are not a permanent part of the England team and I think Pakistan should take advantage of that.”
Saqlain Mushtaq said that Yasir Shah can show his performance in this series for Pakistan while his test record is also very excellent and he has won many matches for Pakistan.
It may be recalled that the departure of the national cricket team is expected on June 28 in a plane chartered by England.
After arriving in England, the national team will be in a 14-day quarantine in Birmingham, after which the training camp will begin.
The national team will play a series of 3 Tests and 3 T20 matches in England and the tour is expected to start on August 5 with the first Test match.
According to the schedule, the Pakistan team will play its first Test match against the host team from August 5 to 9 at the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester.
The second Test of the series will be played from August 13 to 17, while the third Test will be played from August 21 to 25 in Edgbaston.
The Test series will be followed by a three-match T20 series between the two teams, which will be played at the Old Trafford Stadium on August 28, August 30 and September 1, respectively.