Upbeat about the forthcoming series against South Africa, Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan captain, feels that Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan have the potential to play a big role in the Test series and urged his batsmen to raise their game in order to compete against one of the best bowling line-ups of the world.
The first Test of the three-match series begins from February 1, 2013, at Johannesburg. The Test series will be followed by 5 One Day Internationals (ODI) and a couple of T20s.
The Green Shirts have been struggling in the fast bowling department since the ban imposed on Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif, with the likes of Umar Gul, Aizaz Cheema and Wahab Riaz being very inconsistent. However, Junaid has turned out to be a ray of hope in this situation as the left-armer bowled exceptionally well during the Test series in Sri Lanka last year.
In the recently concluded ODI series against India, the youngster also bowled out of his skin and helped Pakistan dismantle the arch-rivals.
Upon his arrival in South Africa, the Pakistan captain expressed that his young left-arm pacer will relish bowling on hard and bouncy pitches. The middle-order batsman also expects Irfan, the lanky fast bowler, to make the most of his height against the Proteas.
"Junaid Khan would love to bowl in these conditions and Mohammed Irfan will do well if he can put the ball in the right areas," the Pakistan captain expressed.
In order to give their bowlers a reasonable chance of putting South Africa under pressure, Misbah understands that the batsmen will have to put runs on the board. He claims that the team has worked very hard and will try to acclimatise to the conditions as soon as possible.
"We have to bat well. Whenever we go abroad, we try to practice against bounce and pace. We use different tactics for that and we make sure we get ready," Misbah added. "It's really difficult when you are not playing a format on a regular basis. You really have to work hard. But that's how it is. We are not playing more Test matches. But we have to adjust because we are professionals."
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