Tag: Umar Gul

Former Pakistan pacer and bowling coach Umar Gul picked wicketkeeper batter, Sarfaraz Ahmed as a better captain than current Pakistan skipper Babar Azam.

Umar Gul in an interview, was asked to pick between Sarfaraz Ahmed and Babar Azam. The right-arm pacer unhesitantly picked the Champions Trophy-winning captain as a superior leader.

“In terms of captaincy, Sarfaraz Ahmed,” responded Gul to the comparison.

Gul, who leads the all-time T20I Rankings with a record 857 rating points was then asked to pick between Mohammad Amir and Shaheen Shah Afridi and he picked his former teammate Amir.

Umar gul picks :

* Sarfraz Ahmad over Babar Azam
* Muhammad Amir over Shaheen
Afridi@iamamirofficial @mdk_gul #Cricket pic.twitter.com/augGCRRS7I

— Muhammad Noman (@nomanedits) July 4, 2023

 

It must be noted that Sarfaraz Ahmed is considered one of the most successful Pakistan captains as the side won the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 under his leadership.

He also led Pakistan to 11 successive T20I series victories amid his tenure.

Earlier, renowned Pakistan-based umpire Aleem Dar picked wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed as the best modern-day Pakistan captain.

Dar, while speaking on ARY News’ show Bouncer, was asked to pick the best Pakistan captain during his prolonged umpiring career.

He, in response, acknowledged all of Pakistan’s modern-day captains which included Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Babar Azam but revealed that the wicketkeeper batter had the edge over the rest due to his decision-making abilities.

“I believe every one of them had different qualities but if someone had superior game awareness and better captaincy skills then it was Sarfaraz,” shared Dar.

“I think a wicketkeeper is a better decision-maker because he is well aware of what the bowler is bowling and that is why I think it is very important that a wicketkeeper should be the captain,” he added.

Aleem Dar further shared his opinion regarding Babar Azam’s captaincy and claimed that he is also performing well but highlighted the importance of having a good team performance.

“Babar is also performing well but if there is no teamwork and you are performing well [individually] or doing captaincy [is not that important] and hence I believe having a good team [performance] is the most important thing,” stated Dar.

READ: Haris Rauf’s wedding festivities begin

KARACHI: Quetta Gladiators’ bowling coach Umar Gul has expressed hope for his team’s comeback in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

The Gladiators, who succumbed to their fourth defeat of the ongoing season following a crushing 63-run defeat against Islamabad United on Friday have sunk to the bottom of the points table with only two points in five matches.

The 2019 champions now need to win all their remaining five matches to make a case for themselves to make it to the playoffs.

Meanwhile, amid his side’s dismal campaign in the ongoing PSL 8, bowling coach Gul is still optimistic about his side’s comeback.

“We are too disappointed with this performance,” said Gul in the post-match press conference at National Bank Cricket Arena.

“I think we are still very much in the tournament. We still have a complete chance to make a comeback from here,” he added.

“We have told players that still five matches are left. If we play according to our strength, we will be in the tournament,” he maintained.

Gul then also praised wicketkeeper batter Azam Khan’s astounding 97-run knock against the Gladiators which lifted the United to post a mammoth 220/6 which eventually was too much for the Gladiators.

“Azam played really well and took the match away from us. We made mistakes in all departments. I know we could have done better,” said Gul.

It is pertinent to mention that the Gladiators next face defending champions Lahore Qalandars on March 2 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

READ: Sri Lanka names Test squad for New Zealand tour

DUBAI: Afghanistan bowling coach Umar Gul revealed that the management has made a strategy against Pakistan captain Babar Azam while also expressing that the plan goes well in their favour.

Bowling coach Umar talked to the pre-match press conference ahead of Afghanistan’s upcoming Asia Cup Super Four fixture against Pakistan and expressed his hopes regarding the strategy against top-ranked T20I batter Babar to go as per plan.

“Babar and Rizwan are world-class players. Definitely, we have planned against them as professionals as we do for the other teams. So obviously, we are hoping that our players can execute those plannings against them,” said Umar Gul.

On a question regarding Pakistan speedster Naseem Shah, who impressed the cricketing world with his brilliant performance in the ongoing Asia Cup, Umar praised Naseem’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) performance and termed it a turning point in his success.

“I have worked with Naseem for two years during my coaching tenure for Quetta Gladiators and the way he performed in the last PSL was quite superb and you may call it a turning point for his international career as he made his debut in the white-ball cricket as well,” Umar stated.

“So in my view, he has improved quite well so far physically and also his cricketing skills. Definitely, he is a good bowler and an asset for Pakistan so I wish him good luck in the future. He is improving day by day and the responsibility is also mounting on him,” he added.

The former Pakistan pacer then expressed his desire to witness a good game of cricket between the two sides while also hoping the crowd to come out in numbers to watch the important match.

READ: ‘No doubt on his abilities, he’ll come back stronger’ Saqlain backs Fakhar

DUBAI: Former Pakistan pacer and current Afghanistan bowling coach Umar Gul advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to adopt a rotation policy for their fast bowlers.

Gul, who is accompanying the Afghanistan cricket team here in the ongoing Asia Cup 2022, interacted with the media, heaped praises on Pakistan’s fast bowling attack and shared a piece of advice for the pacers.

“I think Pakistan’s fast bowlers need to be taken care of a lot and for this, a rotation policy needs to be adopted,” stated Gul.

“Pakistan has very good fast bowlers, the bench strength is also good. So, they have to be taken care of,” he maintained.

The former right-arm Pakistan pacer also opined regarding the ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi and termed the latter a key player for the country in the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2022.

“Shaheen Shah Afridi will be very important in T20 World Cup, he must regain his fitness before the global event,” Gul said.

“Everyone expressed their concerns about Shaheen Afridi that he is being overloaded but he kept playing continuously but, we must agree that he also performed really well,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that Gul’s Afghanistan have stormed into the Super 4s of the Asia Cup 2022 by defeating Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Group B fixtures. Besides Afghanistan, India have also made their way into the final four.

READ: KP beat Northern in a thriller to secure second win in National T20 Cup 

KABUL: The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has appointed former Pakistan pacer Umar Gul as the bowling coach for the national team’s upcoming tour of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Umar, who has coached at the domestic level in Pakistan and also in the country’s marquee tournament – Pakistan Super League (PSL) is now set to take the coaching role of the Afghan cricket team.

The former pacer has worked as the bowling coach of the PSL franchise Quetta Gladiators and also in Kashmir Premier League (KPL).

Umar will be taking the role of bowling coach for a three-week stint but the contract can be extended depending on his impact on the side. The 37-year-old will join the Afghanistan cricket team’s camp in Abu Dhabi on April 4.

Taking to Twitter, the former pacer expressed his gratitude and said he is honoured to be taking the role.

Honoured to be taking up this role with the @ACBofficials . Looking forward to imparting the best of the knowledge that i have and making it worth it for the boys. https://t.co/ouIYa0St2t

— Umar Gul (@umargul_55) April 1, 2022

“It’s a pleasure to be connected with an international squad after coaching in the PSL, KPL, LPL, and domestic leagues. With my experience, I will do my best to assist the Afghan bowlers.” Umar said.

READ: Djokovic stays No.1 as Medvedev falls to Hurkacz at Miami Open