The pick among the fast bowlers will surely be Mohammad Amir: Umar Gul

A determined Pakistan team left their country for the much-anticipated tour of England. England and Pakistan have always enjoyed an intense rivalry. Over the years they have given us many memorable contests. But, this upcoming series is of greater impotance. This is the first time the Men in Green will be flying to the England since the bitter 2010 tour.

Fast bowler Umar Gul, who is currently in the sidelines, was the top ODI performer for Pakistan on the previous tour of England with 12 wickets in five games. However , the veteran is not a part of the upcoming tour, and is currently busy with T20 tournaments in Karachi from where he spoke exclusively to PakPassion.net about Pakistan’s chances in England.

“The team selected for the Test series seems to be a good one. To be honest, no one is really ever satisfied with what selectors choose but in this case, I am happy with the players chosen. This is pretty much similar to the Test team which has proven to be quite successful for a while for Pakistan.”

“We have an excellent bowling attack for this tour and the pick among the fast bowlers will surely be Mohammad Aamer. He will play a key role against England.

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“I expect him to perform very well as he has played in those conditions before. Apart from Aamer, Sohail Khan has put in some excellent performances before and knows how to bowl in seaming conditions. But don’t forget that in leg-spinner Yasir Shah, Pakistan has an excellent bowler who can take wickets on any kind of surface.”

Traditionally, it has been the batting which has let down the team on many occasions. The Pakistan batsmen will play against the might of James Anderson and Stuart Broad who have been demonstrating their supremacy in the longest format for quite some time now. However, Gul believes that it’s not fair to compare the Pakistan Test batting line-up with a below par Sri Lankan batting unit.

“I am convinced that Pakistan’s batsmen will perform better than Sri Lanka as they have some quality batsmen in their midst. As for Sri Lanka, they are a very weak team in Test matches as it stands today.”

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The likely participation of Aamer in the first Test at Lord’s on July 14th will bear special significance as he will be resuming his Test career at a ground where he played his last Test match nearly six years ago. For many, the painful memories of that summer will be as vivid as ever and it is possible that the twenty-four-year-old will encounter some criticism in the build-up to and during his return to Test cricket.

“I am sure the Pakistan management would have spoken to him about it but there is no doubt that Mohammad Aamer will face a lot of pressure during the upcoming tour and this is to be expected due to what happened in 2010.”

“The British media will be following his every move and I would advise him to let his bowling do the talking. He should restrict his movements from the hotel to the ground and back and simply concentrate on his game and nothing else. This will be the best way to answer all of the criticism and back-talk.”

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Talking about his own chances of making a comeback into the side, he says, “I am working hard to make sure that I stay fit and will make sure that I keep on putting in good performances at the domestic level. The rest is up to the selectors. The two Twenty20 tournaments I am playing in Karachi are part of that desire to stay in contention in the long run.”