Former Pakistani pacer Umar Gul opened up ahead of Pakistan's crucial ICC World Cup 2023 round match against Afghanistan on October 23 in Chennai saying that there is no room for mistakes in the mega event.
Talking to Geo News, Gul, who was part of the 2009 T20 World Cup winning squad, stated that there is a lot of talent in the Pakistani team but they just need to make plans accordingly.
"There is no place for making mistakes in a mega event, just learn from your mistakes and move on," Gul said. "There is a lot of talent in [this] Pakistani team, they need to make plans according to the [playing] conditions.
"Yes, the national team have the required talent and capability to bounce back and qualify for the final four."
Gul further stated that Pakistan had a formidable bowling attack but Naseem Shah's injury was a massive setback and also said that Shaheen's last World Cup match spell against Australia would help him gain confidence.
"For the last few years, we have had a great bowling attack in Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah, but Naseem's injury has affected us greatly.
"However, taking five wickets in the last match would be a great confidence booster for Shaheen. Meanwhile, Rauf needs to get himself back and remember his best performances [as it will help him]," he added.
Gul then shed light on the playing conditions in India, talking specifically about the wickets saying that they provide little to no help to bowlers.
"The wickets in India are not helpful for bowlers and the boundaries are small as well. A bowler who adjusts his line and length according to the conditions will succeed here.
"There is no margin for bowlers on Indian wickets, they cannot give room to the batters by bowling [outside the off stump], discipline is mandatory in India.
"It will be interesting to see what kind of wicket it will be in Chennai because, in the last two matches, the wicket was different.
"No, Pakistan is not a small team, we have good, great players in bowling and batting, and there will not be any problem [in upcoming matches]," he added.
Jaffar Hussain
