ICC World Cup 2019 | For a minute I couldn't believe, says Wahab Riaz after his inclusion in Pakistan squad

ICC World Cup 2019 | For a minute I couldn't believe, says Wahab Riaz after his inclusion in Pakistan squad

no photo

|

Getty

Wahab Riaz has said that he wasn’t expecting the call but he is ready for the occasion and will give his best after he got the opportunity for the World Cup. Riaz went on to say that he has matured as a bowler and his experience of having played domestic cricket in England would come in handy.

Having last played a One Day International in the Champions Trophy in June 2017 where a dismal showing in the tournament saw him axed, the left arm pacer has been given a shot at redemption after being surprisingly picked by the selectors to play in the upcoming World Cup in England. Riaz has said that he was shocked when he got the news of his inclusion in the Pakistan squad for the global event.

"I was informed late at night that I have to get ready to go to England," Riaz said at the PCB headquarters in Lahore. "For a minute I couldn't believe what Inzi bhai told me. I asked 'where am I going?' to which he replied 'you are going to Rawalpindi for a match. Obviously, you are going to play the World Cup'", Riaz was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.com.

The decision was taken following the 4-0 thrashing that Pakistan received in the recent series against England, where the bowlers seemed harmless and let the opposition put up 3 scores of 350+ across 4 ODIs. Riaz had recently played in the T20 blast for Derbyshire in England and his experience over the last 11 years of international cricket was a key factor in his selection, that saw the struggling Junaid Khan and Faheem Ashraf miss out.

"I have played very less one-dayers in England," he said. "But, I have Test matches there because of which I am aware of conditions there. Last year I also turned out for Derby in T20 Championship. Obviously, there's a lot of pressure since Inzi bhai has said that I have been brought back on the basis of my experience,” he said.

"I have worked hard and matured as a bowler in the last two years. I have learnt a lot and the results are also visible to everyone... I have always said that the selectors are aware of what they are doing in my previous interviews. Now they feel that they need me. I am ready and will try my best to match the expectations that they have from me.”

With the flat pitches in England and conditions that usually favour the batsmen, as evidenced by the recently-concluded high scoring England-Pakistan series, Riaz said that the mindset and aggression of the bowlers will play a key factor.

"The aggression and attitude will matter a lot," he said. "Since the pitches are placid and conditions are batting conducive it becomes necessary to have an aggressive approach or else the batsmen will dominate you. If a batsman demeans me, I will do what I did that day," Riaz explained.

"It is important to keep things simple on batting wickets. Variations and reverse swing is the key in the last overs. With the conditions dry and wickets hard in England, there will be reverse swing and the team which will do it better will have the advantage. I have expertise our reverse swing so I will try to restrict the flow of runs in the last overs.”

Get updates! Follow us on

Open all