Kamran Akmal advises the Pakistani batsmen to play aggressively

Kamran Akmal, the Pakistani wicketkeeper/batsman, is still optimistic about the national team’s chances in the three-match Test series against South Africa and has advised the batsmen to play aggressively if they wish to have any chance of success against the Proteas.

There were a lot of expectations attached with the Green Shirts before the start of the series because of a talented bowling attack. However, the batsmen miserably failed to deliver the goods in the first Test at Johannesburg, being bowled out for merely 49 runs in their first innings.

Misbah-ul-Haq and company showed some resistance in the second innings but could not avoid a massive defeat. Most of the cricket pundits now believe that the visitors will find it extremely hard to bounce back in the series, taking into account the kind of form Dale Steyn and company showed in the opening fixture.

Kamran however, has a lot of faith in the team and believes that Misbah’s men have the potential to surprise the home side. The cricketer from Lahore feels that another bowling-friendly track is going to be prepared for the second Test and the visitors will be tested.

“Pakistan are a very good side and capable of bouncing back any time, but we must be mentally prepared for another bouncy and seamer-friendly track in Cape town,” warned Akmal.

The 31-year-old cricketer, who has 11 international centuries under his belt, thinks that the key to success on the hard and bouncy tracks of South Africa is to play with a positive frame of mind. Playing defensively against the South African fast bowlers, in Kamran’s opinion, will not take the Pakistani batsmen anywhere.

The wicketkeeper/batsman added, “Given the pitches in South Africa which have pace and bounce you have to play your shots because it is not possible to survive without playing positively. The pitches will always have something for the bowlers.”

Kamran, who has not played a single Test since the controversial tour of England in 2010, is likely to join the national team for the limited-overs series in South Africa.

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Posted by Yasir Hashmi on Feb 11 2013. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.