Pink ball challenge is our road to redemption: Imam-ul-Haq
Second Test between Australia and Pakistan begins on Friday at the Adelaide Oval
Opener Imam-ul-Haq says he is hopeful the team will put up a good show when they take on hosts Australia in the second day/night Test in Adelaide on Friday.
The second Test at Adelaide Oval is a pink-ball affair, with Australia having the upper hand, having won all five pink-ball Tests they have played since the concept was launched four years ago.
The batsman while speaking to the media said the Pakistan camp was not accustomed to the pink ball and admitted that, like every other Australian clash, would be a “challenge”.
“We haven’t trained with the pink ball but we have been given two days to prepare and being professional cricketers it should not be too big of a challenge,” Imam said.
The 23-year-old added that if picked he could not wait to be a part of the pink-ball Test, which he hailed for its entertainment factor.
“A lot of people attend Test matches because of the day and night aspect,” Imam said. “The wicket seems good and it will be a good match for sure.”
The batsman, who played his last Test match against South Africa in January, will reportedly replace out-of-form Haris Sohail. Imam, if picked, will open the Pakistan innings alongside fellow southpaw Shan Masood, which means captain Azhar Ali, who had opened the batting in the first Test and failed to deliver, would bat at one-down where Sohail had previously.
The batsman also hailed Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan’s heroics in the first Test but stressed on building self-confidence in order to make a successful comeback.
“Babar and Rizwan spent a good amount of time on the crease and they performed tremendously well but we need to build our team by instilling confidence in order to make a comeback,” he said.
About leg-spinner Yasir Shah and star Australian batsman Steve Smith, Imam said he is hoping for an exciting show but warned his counterpart that the batsman is a force to be reckoned with.
"There is an exciting competition between Yasir and Smith. He [Steve Smith will be watching for him and he may just have the last laugh,” Imam added.
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