Junaid Khan Reckons Pakistan's Inexperienced Bowlers Will Struggle In England

Pakistan left-arm paceman Junaid Khan has opened up on his team’s chances on the upcoming tour of England. The Pakistan team have already reached England where they are isolating and practising in Worcester for the bilateral series against the hosts. The journey will begin with the first of the three Tests in Southampton from the 5th of August.

Also Read: Rory Burns Becomes The First England Opener To Reach 1000 Runs Since Sir Alastair Cook In Test Cricket

The English team are currently taking part in the Test series against West Indies, which will also consist of three Tests. All the guidelines imposed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak will also apply to the series against Pakistan. The saliva ban is one of the most integral factors that has come under discussion for long and Junaid Khan has also cited that factor in his opinions.

Speaking to Cricket Pakistan in an exclusive interview, Junaid stated that both sides would struggle if they don’t find reverse swing due to saliva ban. While the left-arm seamer hailed James Anderson’s effectiveness with the new ball, he believes that the 37-year old’s reverse swing is not as effectual. Junaid Khan also claims that Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer’s reverse swing deliveries are also not that effective.

“Both sides will have difficulty if there is no reverse swing on offer due to the saliva ban. However, our bowlers are likely to struggle more. Anderson bowls well with the new ball and his reverse swing is not that good. Similarly, Broad and Archer’s reverse swing is not as effective as our bowlers,” the 30-year-old stated.

The 30-year old went on to praise how the likes of Mohammad Abbas, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Naseem Shah have excelled with their reverse swing. However, according to him, the lack of experience in English conditions can go against them.

“Even though Abbas bowls at 125 KPH, he has done well with reverse swing in Asia. Shaheen’s reverse swing may not be as good as Abbas, but it is still alright. The four Test matches that Naseem has played, he has taken most wickets with reverse swing. Our pacers, particularly the likes of Shaheen, Naseem and Musa will have a difficult time as they do not have the experience of playing in England and are not used to the conditions there,” he said.

I was disappointed when my name wasn’t in the 29-member squad announced for the England tour: Junaid Khan

Junaid Khan, who has struggled plenty with injuries, has 71 scalps in 22 Tests, the last of which came in 2015 and debuted in 2011. The 71 wickets have arrived at 31.7 apiece and a strike rate of 64.8. Junaid revealed that he felt disheartened at not receiving a nod for the trip to England.

The Matra-born bowler claimed that he is more experienced than the pacers chosen for the tour while also saying that apart from Abbas, no other bowler has a better strike rate or average than his.

“I was disappointed when my name wasn’t in the 29-member squad announced for the England tour. I am more experienced than the bowlers selected for the tour and want to play Test cricket. Apart from Abbas, no other bowler in the current Test squad has a better bowling strike rate or average than me,” Junaid Khan asserted.

Junaid Khan conceded that he does not feel jealous of Mohammad Amir but laments the support he got from the selectors despite not remaining consistent. On the other hand, he did not get the same amount of preference after not performing in only a couple of games. Khan’s last match for Pakistan was in May 2019 before the World Cup, for which he was not selected.

“I am not jealous of Amir. It is his luck that he got support from the team management despite not performing in 14 or 15 ODIs. Whereas I did not have the same luck, as I was dropped after not performing in only two games,” the left-arm paceman added.

Also Read: Kevin Pietersen Spills The Beans On The Biggest Regret Of His Career