Looking beyond India clash
\n DUBAI
\nPakistan had just finished their first training session for the Asia Cup at the ICC academy here on Wednesday, when players from India arrived to being their practice.
\nThe arch-rivals are due to lock horns in a blockbuster Group \u2018A\u2019 opener on Sunday and while all talk ahead of the six-team Twenty20 tournament has surrounded that clash, Pakistan\u2019s batting coach Mohammad Yousuf is looking beyond it.
\n\u201cThe first thought is to win the Asia Cup and we\u2019re focused on that goal,\u201d Yousuf told reporters after the training session, when asked how the Pakistan team was gearing up for the clash. \u201cThe preparation is for the whole tournament. We\u2019re not looking just at the India match rather we\u2019re looking to win the whole tournament.\u201d
\nThe last clash between the two teams was also in Dubai, when Pakistan beat India at the Twenty20 World Cup in October last year. That helped Pakistan end their jinx of never having won against India in a World Cup match.
\nYousuf said Pakistan players are heading into the Asia Cup high on confidence on the back of good recent results. Babar Azam\u2019s men won three of their last four Twenty20 Inter\u00acnationals since losing the semi-final at the World Cup to Australia last year. There have also been ODI clean sweeps over the West Indies and, more recently, the Netherlands.
\n\u201cPlayers have been performing, they are winning matches which is always good,\u201d said Yousuf. \u201cIn our coaching roles, we\u2019re trying to give them the best support so that they can excel on the pitch.\u201d
\nYousuf had special praise for Pakistan captain Babar, who he reckons is doing an exceptional job both as a leader on the pitch as well as the team\u2019s batting mainstay.
\n\u201cBabar has shown he\u2019s a top cricketer and has performed in pressure situations to prove his greatness,\u201d said the former batting maestro. He\u2019s captain of the side in all three formats and continues to perform in both roles. The players respond to him and he\u2019s performing exceptionally.\u201d
\nPakistan are without pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was ruled out of the Asia Cup due to injury. Yousuf, though, would not talk about how the team was planning to do without Shaheen nor would he comment on how his replacement Mohammad Hasnain was feeling on his return to the team as Shaheen\u2019s replacement.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s not my domain,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019d probably have to ask the bowling coach or the head coach about that.\u201d
\nMeanwhile, Pakistan on Wednesday drafted in highly-rated bowling coach Umar Rashid to assist fast bowling coach Shaun Tait during the Asia Cup.
\nThe Pakistan Cricket Board said that Umar had been included in the player support personnel list on the recommendation of head coach Saqlain Mushtaq.
\nUmar has worked with Pakistan\u2019s emerging pacers at PCB\u2019s National High Perfo\u00acrmance Centre and crucially helped Hasnain in returning to international cricket after his bowling action was deemed illegal.
\nHasnain last featured for Pakistan in the T20 series against the West Indies at home in December last year and he will have a tough job on his hands to replace Shaheen, whose loss was described by Saqlain as a \u201cbig setback\u201d.
\nSaqlain, however, backed his bowling unit to deliver the goods in his interview with the Press Trust of India news agency on Monday.
\n\u201cObviously, losing Shaheen is a big setback to us before the tournament because he is someone who has proven himself at the top level and done well against the best batsmen,\u201d Saqlain said.
\n\u201cIt is never easy to replace a player like Shaheen because of his quality but the resources we have are good and we are backing them to deliver for us,\u201d added the former spinner, who is pinning his hopes on youngsters Naseem Shah and Hasnain.
\n\u201cWe are covered in all bases and though the fast bowlers are not that experienced but they have plenty of confidence and spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Looking beyond India clash DUBAI Pakistan had just finished their first training session for the Asia Cup at the ICC academy here on Wednesday, when players from India arrived to being their practice. The arch-rivals are due to lock horns in a blockbuster Group \u2018A\u2019 opener on Sunday and while all talk ahead of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279640,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-279614","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n