World Cup 2019: Mark Waugh feels Pakistan is missing a key player against India

India and Pakistan rivalry is at its very best whenever they face off in an ICC event. They are up against each other in the ICC World Cup 2019 contest at the Old Trafford in Manchester. The iconic venue is witnessing perhaps the biggest encounter of the tournament as the Men in Blue are playing the Green Army. They’ve both picked the best sides at their disposal but former Australian cricketer Mark Waugh feels Pakistan will miss a player in this contest.

Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed won the toss under overcast conditions with rain hovering around in the sky and chose to bowl first. Both the teams have made changes in their playing XI for this all-important match. India had to include Vijay Shankar in place of Shikhar Dhawan as the opener is out with a fractured thumb. KL Rahul opened the batting with Rohit Sharma for the first time in ODI matches.

Pakistan too made two changes which surprised a lot of people, as they brought in Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan as two specialist spinners in the XI against India a team that plays spin better. Mark Waugh made an interesting observation about a key player who could have done well for the Men in Green in such conditions.

Mohammad Abbas should have been in Pakistan’s squad, says Waugh

Sarfaraz & Co. started off well with Mohammad Amir bowling a maiden over to KL Rahul, but then Hasan Ali struggled to maintain the same level of pressure on the Indian openers at the other end and was taken off the attack after giving 29 runs in his 3 overs. This has been the story for the right-handed fast bowler, who came into this tournament with a lot of promise, but has failed to deliver the goods.

Jr Waugh opined in a tweet that Pakistan is probably missing Mohammad Abbas, the medium pacer in the squad as he is known to be able to exploit these conditions very well. He is currently playing county cricket for Leicestershire in County cricket and has done pretty well for the team. Abbas was highly successful as he picked 10 wickets in two Tests against England in 2018 and was named PCB’s cricketer of the year as well.

Though Abbas is not a speed merchant, he is known for his swing and seam movement and has troubled batsmen with his skills. Waugh tweeted, “Can’t help but thinking Pakistan have missed a trick not at least including Mohammed Abbas in there World Cup squad. There have been at least 2/3 venues so far including today where he would have bowled very well.”

Can’t help but thinking Pakistan have missed a trick not at least including Mohammed Abbas in there World Cup squad. There have been at least 2/3 venues so far including today where he would have bowled very well.

— Mark Waugh (@juniorwaugh349) June 16, 2019