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Today's Paper | September 19, 2024

Published 20 Dec, 2007 12:00am

Indian pacers may struggle Down Under, says Waqar

MUMBAI, Dec 19: Former Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis on Wednesday said the Indian seam bowling, despite being talented, lacked experience to make a telling impact during their tour Down Under.

“Only Zaheer Khan has experience on his side while RP Singh, Irfan Pathan, Pankaj Singh and Ishant Sharma have little or no experience of playing on fast, bouncy tracks of Australia,” said Waqar, a former Sultan of reverse swing. “A lot of young bowlers get carried away by the bounce and get hit all over the park. So the Indian pacers need to watch out for that.”

“Of the two rookie pace bowlers, I was impressed with Ishant’s showing in the Bangalore Test against Pakistan. He hits the deck hard to generate bounce, which is a plus point on Aussie wickets but I am yet to see Pankaj Singh in action,” the ‘Burewala Express’ added.

Waqar, however, said the key to India’s success would be their batting and their spinners performance on Adelaide and Sydney wickets, which are helpful to spinners.

“I think the Indian batsmen are in very good nick and it will always help a team touring Australia if they can put runs on the board and then apply pressure on their batting. If you can get a couple of quick wickets and sustain pressure on their middle order, which is perhaps their strong point, you can surprise them,” Waqar observed.

“Last time around Anil Kumble had performed beautifully and almost won the Test series single-handedly for the Indians and the form he is in right now will only suggest that he could be their bowling spearhead. If he can bowl in tandem with Harbhajan Singh, the hero of the 2001 home series win, then the Indians have a very good chance of upsetting the Aussies,” Waqar pointed out.—Agencies

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