Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain, said the team would look to Yasir Shah to attack a new-look Australia Test line-up, but insisted the leg-spinner won’t be under the pressure of expectation.
“When we played Australia in 2014 we played some attacking cricket,” Ahmed told reporters ahead of the first Test on Sunday, 7 October. “Yasir is our main bowler so we will want him to attack and get us wickets to win the series.
“But 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.”
The weight on Shah is likely to be more with Shadab Khan, Shah’s fellow leg-spinner, ruled out of the opening Test in Dubai with injury.
He took 8/103 in the drawn tour game in Dubai earlier this week, and last year had 41 wickets in India and Bangladesh. Ahmed admitted he would pose a different challenge.
“We attacked him four years ago and at that time we had great batsmen in Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq,” said the Pakistan captain. “Four years on he is a better bowler so he will be their main bowler and a challenge for us.”
But, he added that his team, who drew their series in England, is up to the task. “Australia want to focus on an improved performance in Asia, so that’s their challenge while our focus and challenge is to play good cricket and win the series.”
