Strength is Length

‘‘I noticed in Australia that they bowled the same length in the Tests and the one-dayers. You can’t do that when you are playing Tests in Australia. The bowlers did not learn how to switch over. After playing so many one-day tournaments they tried the same length in the Tests and the result was there for everyone to see’’, the former Pakistan skipper told The Indian Express.

With the medium pace the current lot generates, he says, getting the length is the key to succeeding.

Stressing on the need to recalibrate the Pakistan game plan of attacking at all times with the ball, Younis says that the team will have to work on other methods to pick wickets. ‘‘There is no one who bowls with brisk pace; no one from this lot touches 150 kmph. So they have to bowl with discipline and frustrate the batsmen.’’

Recalling his days bowling with Wasim Akram, Waqar said, ‘‘In those days we could bowl a great spell and pick up two-three wickets in one over and change the course of the game. We don’t have those bowlers anymore. That was a different era, a different set of bowlers. So the approach has to be Australian, where you frustrate them with a tight line and length and let the batsmen make the mistakes.’’

It’s a sad reality of the times that Pakistan lacks the pace they once were known for. With even Shoaib Akhtar out of reckoning for the series, the Pakistanis will have to concentrate more on playing the waiting game than go all out and attack — a ploy that saw them win the World Cup in 1992 when Imran Khan told Wasim Akram not to bother with the no-balls and just go flat out and bowl fast.

That is probably what Waqar would want to tell the boys but he also has to work with coach Bob Woolmer’s strategy and can only decide on a game plan after discussing it with the coach.

‘‘I am not the captain anymore. So I have to put myself in their shoes and think how they would approach the game. I cannot force my ideas on them; I have to work with them on their strengths’’, he adds.

The two bowling attacks, he believes, are on an even keel and well balanced. ‘‘If we have Naved Ul Hasan and Mohammad Sami, they have Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan. India are more experienced in the spin department but Danesh Kaneria could surprise everyone on this tour.’

He feels the series Down Under — which he watched as a commentator — has been the best possible preparation for the side. ‘‘A tough Australian tour has been a great experience for them. They struggled early on as every Asian team does but as the tour progressed they looked more like a team. They looked a better side in the VB Series and that could be their greatest positive going into the India tour.’’

Refusing to put his money on any team he says that whenever Pakistan and Australia play in India it makes for an exciting series. ‘‘This one will be close as well. When India play Pakistan, all technique and plans take a back seat. Whoever sustains the pressure better wins.’’

Until the last series, Pakistan clearly had tougher veins in any contest between the two sides. They won the series in 1986-87 and won two of the three Tests played in 1999 though the third Test was a part of the Asian Test Championship.

The Test wickets will be full of runs, he feels, unless the Indians decide to provide a spinning wicket like they gave the Aussies in Bombay.

Picking his key players for the series, Waqar said Abdul Razzaq would be the key player in the one-dayers and the Tests.

“Shahid Afridi’s contribution will also make the difference in the one-dayers. As for the Tests, Inzamam Ul Haq and Yousuf Youhana will have to bat well at 3 and 4. That could define the Test series for us.”