Saj Sadiq talks to a veteran pace bowler whose return to the Pakistan line-up has helped give the country cause for optimism after a run of defeats.
It was the quarter-final of the 2015 World Cup in Adelaide where Pakistan were taking on the cohosts, Australia, in what many felt was a mismatch given the stark
differences in resources available to both sides. With Pakistan putting up a modest 213, the writing seemed to be on the wall for the 1992 winners.
But then, as has happened many times in the history of Pakistan cricket, a left-arm paceman added fire into a contest that looked like it was heading towards a foregone conclusion.
Wahab Riaz’s great spell to Shane Watson, when he bowled with venom and pace, remains one of the greatest memories of that tournament for Pakistan, albeit in a losing cause.
Roll forward to 2019 and one could clearly understand why the current version of Wahab, 34 later this month, was not included in the provisional World Cup squad. But then, one month is a lifetime in the topsy-turvy world of Pakistan cricket.
Failures to impress by Junaid Khan and Faheem Ashraf in a 4-0 loss to England in the ODI series forced the hands of the selectors to bring back Wahab for the final 15 for the World Cup.
The bowling unit’s recent performances in the World Cup seem to have vindicated his selection.
He said: “I’m gaining my rhythm back and hopefully my form will also come back. The good thing is that I’m hitting the right areas of the crease and that’s what is needed in a World Cup where batsmen will be coming hard at you.”
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