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Saud Shakeel speaking during the Pakistan vs England Pre-Series Press Conference:
Pitch:
"There is still some time left before the Test match starts, and given the kind of heat we are experiencing, we will take everything into consideration and make a decision accordingly. Whatever our strength is, we will make the decision based on that. It's possible that the pitch will remain the same, or it could have a little less grass on it — we are not sure about that yet."
Mohammad Yousuf and Babar Azam's resignation:
“If a selector has resigned, it is his personal decision, and like Babar Azam has left the captaincy, it is related to white-ball cricket, so it doesn’t make much difference when you are looking at different formats. Currently, it is the red-ball team, so it hasn’t made much difference, and we haven’t discussed this as a group, so the morale of the team is quite high.”
Shaheen Shah Afridi's fitness and batting problems:
“You must have seen Shaheen Shah Afridi bowling during practice sessions, and as far as fitness is concerned, PCB can tell you more about it. I can’t tell you much about it.“
“As far as batting is concerned, we struggle in some areas and haven’t been able to convert our starts into big scores, so it is a bit of a concern. But we have always said that we will not play cricket following anyone; we will play according to the requirements. The way I am playing, where there is a requirement to play fast, I play fast, and where there is a need to play slow, I play slow. We don’t decide beforehand how we will play; we always play according to the requirements.”
Captaincy and workload:
“There is a big difference between a captain and a vice-captain. The captain has many tasks to do and many things to look after as compared to a vice-captain, but it doesn’t make much difference. However, the captain has more things to look after.”
Series against Bangladesh and England’s batting:
“The series against Bangladesh is gone, and we didn’t play well. It is past now, and our entire focus is on the upcoming series.”
“England always plays attacking cricket, and the way they play, there are many opportunities to catch them. We will try to take advantage of their mistakes and gain control of the match.”
On chances to beat England:
“If you look at the last series we played against England and look at Rawalpindi or Multan Test matches, we were very close to winning the match, but we couldn’t finish the game there. As I said, the way England plays, they give you many opportunities to stay in the match. We have to take advantage of that and finish the match this time and win this series.”
Pakistan’s bowling strategy:
“Whatever strategy we have, we will have to make it on the spot according to the situation and how the opposition is playing. But here in Multan, you might see reverse swing due to the weather and the type of pitch prepared. But if the team is playing attacking cricket on such a wicket, we shouldn’t over-attack.”
England’s bowling lineup:
“England do not have an experienced bowling and they play according to a certain plan. We haven’t thought much about them. We have tried to keep our things simple and use whatever opportunities we get in our favor.”
Shan Masood backing the players:
“Whenever Shan Masood talked about this, he has backed the boys. A player’s responsibility increases when you are backed like this, and you have to deliver there. We have come here to perform. The way the boys are working hard, I am confident that we will do well in this series, and it is the right time for us to deliver.”
Not winning a Test at home since 2021 and grouping in the team:
“When you lose, many things come out, but if you look at the team’s morale, the backing we have received from the captain or the coach has increased our responsibility to deliver. There is no grouping in the team, and the environment is quite good.”
“We are very confident that we will do well in this series. The hard work we have done in the last month makes me very confident that we will give better results in this series.”
Pitch:
"There is still some time left before the Test match starts, and given the kind of heat we are experiencing, we will take everything into consideration and make a decision accordingly. Whatever our strength is, we will make the decision based on that. It's possible that the pitch will remain the same, or it could have a little less grass on it — we are not sure about that yet."
Mohammad Yousuf and Babar Azam's resignation:
“If a selector has resigned, it is his personal decision, and like Babar Azam has left the captaincy, it is related to white-ball cricket, so it doesn’t make much difference when you are looking at different formats. Currently, it is the red-ball team, so it hasn’t made much difference, and we haven’t discussed this as a group, so the morale of the team is quite high.”
Shaheen Shah Afridi's fitness and batting problems:
“You must have seen Shaheen Shah Afridi bowling during practice sessions, and as far as fitness is concerned, PCB can tell you more about it. I can’t tell you much about it.“
“As far as batting is concerned, we struggle in some areas and haven’t been able to convert our starts into big scores, so it is a bit of a concern. But we have always said that we will not play cricket following anyone; we will play according to the requirements. The way I am playing, where there is a requirement to play fast, I play fast, and where there is a need to play slow, I play slow. We don’t decide beforehand how we will play; we always play according to the requirements.”
Captaincy and workload:
“There is a big difference between a captain and a vice-captain. The captain has many tasks to do and many things to look after as compared to a vice-captain, but it doesn’t make much difference. However, the captain has more things to look after.”
Series against Bangladesh and England’s batting:
“The series against Bangladesh is gone, and we didn’t play well. It is past now, and our entire focus is on the upcoming series.”
“England always plays attacking cricket, and the way they play, there are many opportunities to catch them. We will try to take advantage of their mistakes and gain control of the match.”
On chances to beat England:
“If you look at the last series we played against England and look at Rawalpindi or Multan Test matches, we were very close to winning the match, but we couldn’t finish the game there. As I said, the way England plays, they give you many opportunities to stay in the match. We have to take advantage of that and finish the match this time and win this series.”
Pakistan’s bowling strategy:
“Whatever strategy we have, we will have to make it on the spot according to the situation and how the opposition is playing. But here in Multan, you might see reverse swing due to the weather and the type of pitch prepared. But if the team is playing attacking cricket on such a wicket, we shouldn’t over-attack.”
England’s bowling lineup:
“England do not have an experienced bowling and they play according to a certain plan. We haven’t thought much about them. We have tried to keep our things simple and use whatever opportunities we get in our favor.”
Shan Masood backing the players:
“Whenever Shan Masood talked about this, he has backed the boys. A player’s responsibility increases when you are backed like this, and you have to deliver there. We have come here to perform. The way the boys are working hard, I am confident that we will do well in this series, and it is the right time for us to deliver.”
Not winning a Test at home since 2021 and grouping in the team:
“When you lose, many things come out, but if you look at the team’s morale, the backing we have received from the captain or the coach has increased our responsibility to deliver. There is no grouping in the team, and the environment is quite good.”
“We are very confident that we will do well in this series. The hard work we have done in the last month makes me very confident that we will give better results in this series.”
