"They are a real threat when they are going through a bit of turmoil" - Michael Vaughan on Pakistan ahead of Test series against England
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan has warned the national team against taking Pakistan lightly, claiming them to be most dangerous with their backs to the wall. The 48-year-old also reckons Jason Gillespie will get Pakistan to play much better cricket moving forward.
Pakistan have had a nightmare run lately, especially in Test cricket. With Shan Masood replacing Babar Azam as captain, the national team lost the three-Test series in Australia earlier this year. However, Pakistan's nadir came recently when Bangladesh consigned them to a 2-0 series loss on home soil.
Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan suggested that England had won comfortably in the 2022 leg, but Pakistan would put up a better fight on this occasion.
"England’s 3-0 win in Pakistan in 2022 was a magnificent result and performance, the best of the Bazball era. They are back less than two years later and pulling off a repeat would be just as significant a result. If there is one thing we know about Pakistan from years of experience it is that they are a real threat when they are going through a bit of turmoil. And right now, they are going through a bit of turmoil. They are on a poor run of form and their selection is chaotic. But I have no doubt that Jason Gillespie will get them playing much better," he wrote.
Pakistan haven't made sweeping changes to the squad to face England despite the series defeat to Bangladesh. However, Aamer Jamal's return to the playing XI will feel like a boost for the home side.
"The pitches for the series are a bit of a mystery at this stage" - Michael Vaughan
Vaughan also urged England to see this series as a stepping stone to next year's series against India and Australia. He urged the visitors not to repeat the debacle of The Oval against Sri Lanka, adding:
"The pitches for the series are a bit of a mystery at this stage. Pakistan have spoken about making greener pitches, but if they are flat like Rawalpindi in 2022, when England scored 500 in a day, they will have a lot of fun playing Bazball. That is great, but as they tick towards their big year in 2025, when they host India and travel to Australia, I would like to see them play the way they did for most of this summer – until they got it wrong at the Oval."
England will be without Ben Stokes for the first Test, which is scheduled to start on Monday, October 7, in Multan.