Wahab Riaz vows to live up to nation's expectations in World Cup

Fast bowler promises to bring aggression and fire with his bowling

By Web Desk
May 22, 2019
Wahab Riaz addresses press conference in Lahore. Photo: Wahab Riaz Twitter 

LAHORE: Fast bowler Wahab Riaz on Tuesday vowed to live up to the nation's expectations in the upcoming World Cup by bringing aggression and fire with his bowling.

"Definitely it will be a challenging event and I am lucky to get a last-minute call to be part of the team and it is an honour to represent the country in the World Cup," he told reporters at a news conference in Lahore.

Wahab, who was not part of the national team during the past two years, was a surprise inclusion in the side along with Mohammad Amir and Asif Ali, replacing Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan and Abid Ali.

"Though I was not in the initial 23-member Pakistan squad announced for the World Cup, even then I had a strong conviction that I will play this World Cup and a few days before my call, I had a dream that I have been called and the next day chief selector Inzamam ul Haq rang me and informed that I will be playing," he said.

"My late father had a strong conviction that I will be playing the World Cup 2019 and in the circumstances when I was not part of the team for a couple of years, I did not get disappointed; I continued my hard work to remain in fitness and form," said the pacer.

Wahab said during the past two years, he endeavoured to lift the level of his game to bring more maturity in his bowling and overall game and now the time had come to demonstrate what he had learnt during these years.

Defending Pakistan team''s performance in the recent one day series which it lost to England 4-0, Wahab said never before such consistency had been seen in Pakistan batting and the batsmen scored over 300 runs in all the four matches which was a clear indicator that batsmen were batting with necessary application and mindset.

Wahab Riaz bowled a memorable spell against Australia's Shane Watson in the 2015 World Cup quarterfinal. Photo:AFP

"We have to look into positive aspects of this series for us, our batting clicked from top to bottom; our bowlers bowled well but not that good, and the main area where we lacked was the fielding and there is room to improve in it as with patchy fielding we cannot brighten our chances for success," said Wahab.

To a question, he said he does not have much one day experience on English soil but has ample experience in the Test matches there and he will be utilising his experience and the ability of reserve swing to contribute in the team's performance.

“The team which has the ability to reverse swing the ball definitely will have an edge over opponents," he added.

Answering a question, he said not being part of the team during the past two years left him frustrated and he felt upset but did not give up the hard work and regular training which eventually helped him to perform in the national domestic tournaments and finally brought him back in the World Cup squad.

"If we bowl with good line and length in the last overs of a match and try to get wickets to curtail runs, it will be beneficial for our team," he said, adding, "I have my own set target as far as my performance is concerned in the World Cup."

Wahab said Pakistan team needs to exhibit a better brand of cricket in the World Cup and every player has an assigned job to justify his place in the team and every match of the mega event is challenging and all the teams are equally good and tough.

"Considering any opponent weaker will not be fair as we have to demonstrate our best ability in every match and team efforts and hunger to victory are the key to success in the World Cup," he asserted.

The 33-year old said a lot is expected from Pakistan team in the World Cup and such an expectation puts extra pressure on the team and players and the team needs to show aggression to outplay its rivals.

"I have yet to prove to coach Micky Arthur that I am a match winning bowler, for achieving this task I will be doing my best to prove this in the World Cup that what was said (criticism) was not true about me," he added.

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