PAK vs SL | Great to see cricket come back to Pakistan, states Waqar Younis
After Pakistan won the two-match Test series at home against Sri Lanka 1-0, bowling coach Waqar Younis expressed his joy to witness cricket come back home, more than the fact that the team tasted victory. He reminisced Karachi as a venue where the hosts have enjoyed a good record.
Ten years too long, but Pakistan have successfully made the wait for Test cricket to return to their nation count. As the much-awaited home Test series got wrapped up, in which Pakistan emerged victorious, bowling coach Waqar Younis has hailed the bunch for their success. He has also maintained that this series, which Pakistan won 1-0, has proven to the world that Pakistan is good to host more games.
“Home is home, people came in numbers at Rawalpindi and it was heartening to see how they love their cricket. They have shown the world that it's a safe place to play,” Younis said at the post-match, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
The Pakistan veteran paceman recalled the days from his era of playing and shared how it was completely different from the kind it is today. Younis’ statements revealed how important the homecoming of cricket is to the nation.
“When we played cricket here, it was a different ball game altogether. It's a emotional game and cricket coming back here after 10 years is a great feeling,” the former Pakistan captain revealed.
Younis also congratulated the boys for producing a great show and pulling off the series win. While the first game was a draw due to three days getting washed out, the hosts steamrolled Sri Lanka in the second Test. Younis also predicted great future for youngster Naseem Shah.
“The boys have done a great job. Very proud of them. We always had this feeling that it would finish quickly. It's good that we won and more than that the cricket has come back home. I still feel it's early days for him (Naseem Shah); it's very good that he's picked up five wickets. He will go a long way. I want to thank a lot of people. We have got Musa sitting in the bench and glad that Abbas is back,” Younis added.
“All things rolling nicely. I said it before, Karachi is a place where we always had good success. We want to play more Test matches at home, the guys feel really good playing in front of the home crowd. This team is gelling well -- the batting has started to click and all is going well.”