Yasir Shah will be Pakistan's trump card in second Test against South Africa: Kamran Akmal
Kamran Akmal has picked Yasir Shah to be Pakistan's match-winner in the second Test against South Africa.
Yasir Shah bagged seven wickets in the first Test in Karachi to help Pakistan register a comfortable victory. The leg-spinner would be hoping to replicate that performance in the second and final Test of the series, starting from February 4 in Rawalpindi.
During a discussion with Aakash Chopra on his Facebook page, Kamran Akmal shared his views on Pakistan's performance in the first Test while also looking forward to the second one.
Kamran Akmal opted to go with Yasir Shah when asked to pick one Pakistan player who could do wonders for the hosts in the second Test match.
The wicket-keeper pointed out that while Nauman Ali picked up the most number of wickets in the second innings of the first Test, it was Shah who troubled the South African batsmen the most.
"They are all match-winners, it depends which batsman is in form on the given day or which bowler has a good rhythm. But Yasir Shah is the trump card in the Pakistan team currently. No doubt Nauman Ali took five wickets and 7-8 in the match, it was an amazing debut Test match and bowled very well but Yasir Shah was the one who had caused the most trouble for the South African batting," said Akmal
Kamran Akmal highlighted that Yasir Shah had bamboozled the South Africans, including star batsmen Faf du Plessis and Quinton De Kock, with his bag of tricks.
"He was bowling the leg-breaks, googly and the straighter ones. Faf du Plessis, De Kock and their entire batting lineup were not able to read him. He did not let them score the easy runs, which shows the maturity with which he bowled along with the variety. His rhythm was very good and we were expecting this from Yasir Shah from a long time. If he takes advantage of this, he will benefit the Pakistan team by getting the batsmen out," added Akmal
Babar Azam would have gained a lot of confidence: Kamran Akmal
Kamran Akmal was also asked to comment on Babar Azam's captaincy in the first Test. He replied that Azam winning his maiden Test as skipper will hold him in good stead.
"He would have gained a lot of confidence after winning against a good team. It was the first match of the series, the first as captain. There was no doubt on his performance but there was a debate going on here that he cannot be a good captain and that it is too early to make him the skipper. But he got a good start by winning the Test match and will definitely go into the second Test match with greater confidence," said Akmal
Kamran Akmal signed off by hoping that Babar Azam comes good with the bat as well, and raises his game a notch higher as the skipper, just like Virat Kohli and Steve Smith.
"Now it is neccesary for him to perform as well. The way he has performed in the past, he will have to give a similar kind of performance as a captain also. The way we have seen Virat Kohli or when Steve Smith was the captain, the way he used to perform. When you are the captain, you need to perform even better as a player and need to demand the same from the team," concluded Kamran Akmal
Babar Azam scored 37 runs across the two innings in his first Test as skipper, with Keshav Maharaj getting the better of him on both occasions. He will hope to come up with a significant knock in the Rawalpindi Test to establish himself further in his new role.