Jason Gillespie asks Pakistan batters to 'shut up' on demand of flat pitch for England Tests
"I'll give you an inside story. Jason Gillespie has handed a shut-up call to Pakistan batters. He [Masood] wants the pitch to remain the same that has been prepared by the groundsman," Basit Ali said.
Pakistan are having a rough phase as a team. Since the final of the T20 World Cup 2022, the team was ousted from the group stages of the subsequent ICC events. Their run in Tests has also been dismal as they lost to the visiting Bangladesh side by 0-2. They will next host England for the red-ball series. Amid all this, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has revealed a request made by Shan Masood that was shooed away.
Pakistan batters struggled against Bangladesh bowlers after getting good starts and the same was evident with the bowling unit as they could not capitalise on early breakthroughs. Basit revealed that he has an insight that Pakistan skipper, Masood, requested red-ball coach, Jason Gillespie, for flat-pitched against England but the latter asked him to “shut up”.
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"I will give you an inside story. Jason Gillespie has handed a shut-up call to Pakistan batters. He [Masood] wants the pitch to remain the same that has been prepared by the groundsman," Basit said on his official YouTube channel.
"Pakistan batters wanted to cut off the grass to make it a flat pitch. The pitch curator and Gillespie want to play on the same pitch. I would be really happy if the match took place on a grassy surface and our bowlers took wickets," he further said.
Playing against Pakistan at home is a challenge: Joe Root
The last time England visited Pakistan, they were all over the hosts as they clinched the series by 3-0. Both teams are out of contention in the World Test Championship and would like an upper hand over each other. England batter, Joe Root, emphasised that the team would take heart from their previous visit and noted that Three Lions should be on top of their game.
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“Yes, that series has helped us prepare for the coming matches and we have a plan on how to play here. But this is a new series and we have to play well again to win again in Pakistan,” Root told a media conference.
"We learned a few things from that series, but (playing against) Pakistan at home is a challenge. Pakistan can definitely take advantage of their home conditions and we also have a couple of new young players eager to establish themselves. It should be an interesting series," he added.
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