I’ll focus on making players mentally strong, says Mushtaq

Mushtaq Ahmed, the newly-appointed spin bowling coach and mentor of Pakistan team for their forthcoming to England, said that getting mentally strong for this important tour is the biggest challenge for the players.

“Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the players have stayed away from the game for the last three months. They can regain their skills level after one-week camp training. However, the toughest challenge for them is to be mentally strong as cricket is going to resume under a specific environment [due to the pandemic],” Mushtaq said.

“As the team’s mentor as well as their spin bowling coach, my primary focus will be on making the players mentally strong so that in case of any untoward situation they can face it easily,” the former Test leg-spinner added.

Underlining that he had had vast experience of coaching and bowling in English conditions, the 52-Test veteran Mushtaq said he would share his experience with the players on how to keep pressure off in testing circumstances.

“The upcoming series between West Indies and England will also help us to monitor the playing conditions under bio-secure arrangements, and [subsequently] to come out with a better plan to meet the challenges,” the 49-year-old Mushtaq remarked.

The West Indies reached England on Tuesday to play three Tests and one-off T20 International. Their series will be followed by Pakistan who on their England tour will feature in three Tests and as many T20 Internationals.

Pakistan’s tour, which is tentatively scheduled for August, is yet to be finalised between the PCB and ECB. Due to Covid-19 crisis, the PCB has so far failed to organise a national training camp at the NCA and now it is planning to send the national team to England in the latter part of June to hold the camp there despite the fact that England when compared to Pakistan, has been hit much harder by Covid-19 pandemic.

On the team’s strategy, Mushtaq said after seeing the pitches in England it would be decided whether to rely more on spinners or fast bowlers.

However, he added, the role of spinners was always important noting they could change the situation in the last two days of a Test match.

While acknowledging that England had an experienced pace attack unlike Pakistan which possessed a battery of young pacers like Nasim Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Abbas, Mushtaq said the Pakistan fast bowlers were talented to produce impressive results on England pitches.

The former spinner said he was already in touch with his friends in England to get knowledge about the pitch conditions there. However, he said, the final decision on the playing XI had to be taken by head coach Misbah-ul-Haq.

Mushtaq welcomed the appointment of former captain Younis Khan as batting coach for the England tour. Younis, the highest run-getter for Pakistan in Test cricket, was appointed to the post on Tuesday alongside Mushtaq.

Commenting on the new playing conditions introduced recently by the ICC which has prohibited the use of saliva on the ball due to Covid-19 pandemic, Mushtaq said it would be a challenge for the players to adjust but reiterated that the upcoming series between the West Indies and England would significantly help Pakistan to deal with the situation to their advantage during their Test rubber on English soil.

He reckoned the PCB made the right call by not holding in Pakistan a training camp for the England-bound squad due to Covid-19, adding the most important thing was that cricket was going to resume which was a very healthy sign for cricketers and fans.