LONDON : The onus will be on Pakistan\u2019s top batsmen to post competitive totals against England but batting coach Younis Khan said the team will need \u201ca fighting tail\u201d to win the series.
\nGiven the team is prone to inexplicable batting collapses, Pakistan roped in former captain Younis to help their batsmen for the three-test series beginning in Manchester on Wednesday.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re here to win the series,\u201d Younis, only Pakistan test batsman in the 10,000-run club, said on Tuesday. \u201cFor that we need a fighting tail, which is the hallmark of all top teams.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s not just the top six-seven batsmen. The tailenders must also perform with the bat,\u201d he said, citing the contribution of England\u2019s lower order in their 2-1 series victory against West Indies.
\nYounis has been working with the pace trio of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Abbas, who have single digit batting averages.
\n\u201cI think Abbas has nice balance. I\u2019m trying to make him their leader, someone who can guide the tailenders,\u201d Younis said. \u201cThey may not score a lot, but they need to put up a fight with the bat.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve been working really hard on their batting – feeding them bouncers and yorkers in the nets.\u201d
\nSkipper Azhar Ali and batting mainstay Babar Azam will have to share bulk of the scoring duty against an England team fresh from their win against West Indies.
\nYounis acknowledged the pressure on Babar, currently among top six batsmen in all three formats, and said he has been trying to help the 25-year-old focus on his game.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s been a fantastic player for Pakistan with strong performance in the last couple of years. I\u2019m here to help take his game to the next level.
\n\u201cI want him to bat longer, converting his 100 into 150 and 150 into 200.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON : The onus will be on Pakistan\u2019s top batsmen to post competitive totals against England but batting coach Younis Khan said the team will need \u201ca fighting tail\u201d to win the series. Given the team is prone to inexplicable batting collapses, Pakistan roped in former captain Younis to help their batsmen for the three-test […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122924,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n