Pakistan vs Australia: Sarfraz Ahmed banks his hopes on Yasir Shah

The under-fire Pakistan team will be facing Australia for a two-match Test series which will commence on October 7. Both these teams have been undergoing some difficult times in the recent past. Hence, this series is an extremely crucial one for them. With the games being played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Australia will be obviously greeted with turning tracks. Pakistan’s skipper Sarfraz Ahmed is hopeful of outdoing the visitors with the spin trap.

The wicket-keeper batsman claimed leg-spinner, Yasir Shah, as one of his biggest weapons. Back in 2014, when the Aussies played Pakistan in the UAE, Shah was a crucial member in the 2-0 win in favour of the hosts. He picked 12 wickets back then while left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar claimed 14 scalps.

Sarfraz Ahmed doesn’t want to undermine Nathan Lyon

“When we played Australia in 2014 we played some attacking cricket. Yasir is our main bowler so we will want him to attack and get us wickets to win the series. But similarly, we will not put extra pressure on him and will not want him to go in a defensive mode so other bowlers will have to support him,” Sarfraz said as quoted in cricket.com.au.

But, at the same time, the Pakistan skipper also doesn’t want to take Nathan Lyon lightly. Lyon picked 8/103 in the first innings of the practice game against Pakistan ‘A’. He returned with figures of 1/54 in the second innings of the four-day practice game. With the kind of form that he is in, he could pose a huge threat to the hosts.

“We attacked him four years ago and at that time we had great batsmen in Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq,” said Sarfraz on the 2014 series when Lyon got only three wickets in two Tests. “Four years on he is a better bowler so he will be their main bowler and a challenge for us,” said Sarfraz on Lyon, who grabbed 41 wickets in six matches in India and Bangladesh last year.

Apart from Yasir Shah, 33-year-old Bilal Asif and Shadab Khan are the other two spinners in the Pakistan side. While Bilal is yet to make his Test debut, Shadab will miss the first game as he is nurturing a groin injury.

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