Umar Gul Reveals Why Pakistan Lost The Series Opener Versus Afghanistan

image-lfnubnpkMohammad Nabi's all-round show paved the way for a famous Afghan win (ICC)

Pakistan suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Afghanistan in the first T20I of the three-match series in Sharjah. The loss left Pakistan's bowling coach, Umar Gul, in a reflective mood as he tried to make sense of what went wrong for his team. 

In the post-match conference, Gul spoke about the challenging conditions that the players had to contend with. He noted that they had transitioned from batting-conducive conditions to different situations in Sharjah.

"It was our first game and our players were exposed to totally different conditions here because they were playing in batting-conducive conditions during PSL," said Gul.

The former pacer also expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the young players and lauded Ihsanullah for maintaining his rhythm and picking up two crucial wickets early on in the match.

"We will work on the mistakes and make tactical adjustments. The bowlers stuck to their plans and execution was good. The way Ihsnaullah continued his rhythm, getting two wickets early on was pleasing to see," stated Gul.

The 40-year-old concluded by reiterating his belief that the team is good and has been performing well in domestic cricket for the past one and a half years. He emphasized that one match should not be used to judge the players' abilities and that it was essential to give them time to settle into international cricket.

"These youngsters have been performing in domestic for one and a half years or so. You can't say on the basis of one match that they are not good enough. I strongly believe we have the potential to make a comeback and win the last two games," reckoned the Pakistan bowling coach.