Umar Gul eyeing Pakistan comeback after injury and form crisis

After being frozen out of the Pakistan side, 332-year old Umar Gul has been longing for a way back into the grand scheme of things. However, this is proving to be rather difficult given the fact that incumbent coach Mickey Arthur is focusing more on the younger players in the form of Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam.

Gul went on to state that he regretted that he could not play as much and blamed the injury for the same.“I regret that I couldn’t play much of this season due to fitness issues and doctors had advised me to rest for around a month,” Umar said while talking to geo.tv in Karachi.

“Most of the times, my fitness kept me out of action, hardly there was any incident when I was dropped on basis of my performance,” he added.

The 32-year old added that he was picked on the basis of his form. “I was picked on basis of my performance and form, and I agree that I could not perform according to the expectations of selectors and fans, but I was making a come back to ODI squad after a long time,” he said.

“I am not making any excuses for my inability to perform there, but I think if a proper run was provided, then I would he regained my rhythm there,” said Umar 179 and 163 wickets for Pakistan in 130 ODIs and 47 Tests respectively.

He also went on to add that making a comeback after being dropped should be for everyone. “This should be for everyone, be it a batsman or a bowler,” he said. “I made a comeback before Asia Cup, but I was dropped after just two T20Is, then I made a comeback earlier this year in England tour, this was my ODI comeback after 18 months, and I was dropped only after three ODIs,” he rued.

He concluded by stating that he still had a lot to offer in the game. “I think my caliber is still the same,” he said. “My game hasn’t declined, the form is just a temporary thing and I believe that I can still contribute my part in making Pakistan win matches in future,” Umar said.