Sajid Khan and Noman Ali are the stars behind Pakistan’s remarkable turnaround against England. The hosts trailing in the series after the first Test decided to produce wickets which assisted spinners in the next couple of games, off-spinner Sajid Khan and Noman Ali combined to pick up 39 out of the 40 wickets.
“We witnessed that you were scaring England batters with your bowling while Noman was picking wickets, working the same way as Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis used to,” asked a reporter after Pakistan’s nine-wicket win in Rawalpindi.
“Maine to kisi ko nahi daraya. Aap log kehte ho ki daraya hai. Allah ne look aisi di hai ki main hansta bhi hun to log darr jaate hain (I didn’t scare anyone, but you people keep saying this. God has given me such a look that even if I laugh, people get scared),” responded Sajid in a comic way.
“Thankful to god for the series win. There was no pressure as such. I was making a comeback, but there were people who backed me,” Sajid added.
“Noman bhai is one of the most experienced spinners in our country. He has been a great mate and has served well. He deserved this PoS award with me. Congrats to the nation for this win,” Sajid further said.
Sajid cut his chin while batting on Friday and had to change his bloodied shirt but returned on Saturday to spin a web around the English batters. “For everyone to stand up and give their best means a lot,” said Pakistan skipper Shan Masood, who sealed Pakistan’s victory with a six off England spinner Shoaib Bashir.
“It is about characters, people you can trust, people you think can bleed for you – Sajid literally bled for us yesterday.
After losing the opener, Pakistan took a bold selection call by dropping three frontline players – batter Babar Azam and the pace duo of Naseem Shah and Shaheen Afridi.
