Extremely impressed by Pakistan’s talented bowling line-up, Harsha Bhogle, the Indian cricket journalist feels that the Green Shirts need not to worry about the surfaces in Sri Lanka owing to the strength in depth in their bowling rank.
In the presence of Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistan have three quality T20 spinners, all of whom are extremely hard to negotiate for the opposing batsmen, especially in the shorter formats.
The Sri Lankan pitches in the recent past however; have also aided seam bowling, forcing some experts to conclude that sides like South Africa, England and Australia will relish playing under favourable conditions.
Bhogle nonetheless, is of the view that Hafeez and company do not have to worry about the varying nature of the Lankan tracks as they have the services of Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir, two brilliant operators in T20 cricket.
“With Sohail Tanvir and Umar Gul in form, Pakistan are the one team that need not bother about the surface, having bowlers to suit all kinds,” he expressed.
Having the likes of Ajmal, Afridi and Gul in their ranks, the Men in Green have three of the leading wicket-takers in T20 history. The Green Shirts’ bowling attack played a massive role in their recent series triumph over Australia in United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Bhogle, in his article for ESPNcricinfo, further added that many teams in the tournament have surprise weapons in the bowling department. However, the analyst is concerned about the dying art of fast bowling in the world, with teams like West Indies and South Africa, renowned for producing speedsters in past, shifting their focus on spin.
“The unpredictability makes this edition even more alluring. West Indies, once the home of fast bowling, could play with Samuel Badree, Sunil Narine, Marlon Samuels and Darren Sammy (three of them slow, one just going past that definition),” Bhogle stated. “Even South Africa, the land of the braai and seam-up bowlers, might play three slow bowlers.”
The tournament is going to officially begin from Tuesday at Hambantota, with the opening match between the hosts and Zimbabwe.
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