Pakistan, much like South Africa, did not have a good 2019. They were unable to reach the semi-final of the World Cup in England and followed that up by losing a T20I series against a second-string Sri Lanka side at home. This was once again followed by another debacle, that in they failed to win even a single match across three T20Is and a couple of Test matches in Australia.
Pakistan has been clearly lacking a hard-hitting all-rounder in their squad who can contribute with both the bat and ball. Current bowling coach of Pakistan Waqar Younis has an eye on one cricketer that can fill the all-rounder’s position, and that is the 25-year-old Faheem Ashraf, who Younis believes can become Pakistan’s, Ben Stokes.
Waqar regretted not having Faheem fit for the home Test series against the Lankans and realized that it is hard to find someone like Stokes. However, he is banking on Faheem to be that kind of an all-rounder once he returns from the injury. “We wanted to have him around for the recent Sri Lanka Test series, but he was injured. We would love to have the luxury of an all-rounder in the Test team who can give us that fourth bowling option, especially when you have a young pace bowling attack.
Ashraf who has played 4 Test matches, 23 ODIs, and 27 T20Is was excluded from the Pakistan team due to unimpressive outings ahead of the World Cup, but Younis is hopeful that Ashraf’s good performances in the Qaid-e-Azam trophy, will help him make a comeback to the team.
