If we don’t improve our bowling quickly, I see them giving away 350-375 runs against top teams: Kamran Akmal

In a conversation on JioCinema’s daily show ‘#AAKASHVANI’, former Pakistan wicket-keeper batter, Kamran Akmal, analysed Pakistan’s strengths and weaknesses going into the World Cup. “Pakistan’s batting, I feel, is their strong point. Babar Azam depends a lot on the performance of the top three batsmen, so their form will be crucial. I think Pakistan’s biggest weakness is their bowling. Shaheen Shah Afridi is the only one bowling well with the new ball.

Hasan Ali is returning to the fold after a long time and Mohammad Wasim is struggling with his rhythm. So, I see them struggling in the bowling department. We have good spinners like Shadab (Khan) but at the moment they are not able to get wickets in the middle overs. If we don’t improve our bowling quickly, I see them giving away 350-375 runs against top teams.” 

He also was unsure if Pakistan could go on to win the World Cup. “It looks quite difficult. As of now, many teams are really strong. It’s an opportunity for them. If the results go in Pakistan’s favour against some of the relatively weaker teams, they should be able to finish in the top four. They were ranked No. 1 recently and that makes a lot of difference to the confidence. So, I feel they can finish in the top four.” 

Recently, Pakistan failed to deliver the goods in Asia Cup 2023 as in one of their group stage games against India, they conceded 356 runs and went on to lose the game by a massive margin of 228 runs. The bowling looked feeble, the same aspect that Akmal opened up about in detail. Talking of the impending World Cup, Pakistan play arch-rivals India on October 14 in Ahmedabad and it remains to be seen how they fare in the mega assignment in India.