Published: Feb 27, 2016, 09:57 AM (IST)
Edited: Feb 27, 2016, 05:02 PM (IST)
Mohammad Aamer’s return to the Pakistan side has certainly given the team some depth in bowling. He made a return to international cricket for the first time in five years during their tour of New Zealand. After a shaky start, he quickly adapted and Pakistan were happy to retain his services for the Asia Cup 2016 and ICC World T20 2016. The Asia Cup so far has been dominated by the bowlers. The pitch at Dhaka is nothing like the one we have seen in the past and a bit of nonseasonal rain in the city, the conditions have been bowler-friendly thus far, which hands Aamer the initiative. Full cricket scorecard: India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2016, Match 4 at Dhaka
Aamer looked a bit out of sorts in the T20I series against New Zealand, but his pace and swing in the initial stages of the innings makes him a dangerous bowler. There’s little doubt that he will open the bowling for Pakistan in this match. Pakistan do not have a one dimensional attack for this tournament, like they did in the New Zealand series. Along with other left arm pacers like Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Irfan, they have included veteran Mohammd Sami and Anwar Ali in the squad. It will not be ideal for Pakistan to play all five seamers in this match or any match in this tournament, but they do have options on their bench to support Aamer. India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup T20 2016 Match 4 at Dhaka, Preview
Aamer has played only a couple of matches against India, but that was a long time ago. Only a handful of the current Indian players have had the opportunity of face him, but things have changed drastically since. The likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were just about finding their feet in international cricket back then, but today are two of the feared cricketers in the world. MS Dhoni was relatively new to captaincy, but he is today the most successful Indian captain and perhaps one of the best in the world. READ: India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2016, 4th T20I at Mirpur: Key Battles
Aamer definitely springs up an interesting challenge for India, but this will be a good opportunity to showcase his worth ahead of the ICC World T20 2016. A good performance from Aamer in this match and tournament will reassure the Pakistan selectors that they have picked him at the right time and have not rushed him back into international cricket. Aamer had a good run in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and the Pakistan Premier League (PSL) recently and the conditions should in no way be alien to him.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
