Former England captain Michael Vaughan has cautioned the national team not to underestimate Pakistan, asserting that they are most dangerous when under pressure. He also believes Jason Gillespie will help improve Pakistan’s performance in the future.
Pakistan has faced significant challenges recently, particularly in Test cricket. After Shan Masood took over as captain from Babar Azam, the team suffered a loss in a three-Test series against Australia earlier this year. Their situation worsened with a 2-0 series defeat to Bangladesh at home.
In his column for The Telegraph, Vaughan noted that while England won easily in their 2022 series, Pakistan is expected to put up a stronger fight this time.
“England’s 3-0 win in Pakistan in 2022 was a magnificent result and performance, the best of the Bazball era. They are back less than two years later and pulling off a repeat would be just as significant a result.”
“If there is one thing we know about Pakistan from years of experience it is that they are a real threat when they are going through a bit of turmoil. And right now, they are going through a bit of turmoil. They are on a poor run of form and their selection is chaotic. But I have no doubt that Jason Gillespie will get them playing much better,” he wrote.
Pakistan has not made major changes to their squad for the England series despite losing to Bangladesh. However, Aamer Jamal’s inclusion in the playing XI is expected to strengthen the home team.
“The pitches for the series are currently somewhat uncertain”- Michael Vaughan
Vaughan encouraged England to view this series as a foundation for next year’s matches against India and Australia. He advised the team to avoid repeating the mistakes made at The Oval against Sri Lanka, stating:
“The pitches for the series are a bit of a mystery at this stage. Pakistan have spoken about making greener pitches, but if they are flat like Rawalpindi in 2022, when England scored 500 in a day, they will have a lot of fun playing Bazball.”
“That is great, but as they tick towards their big year in 2025, when they host India and travel to Australia, I would like to see them play the way they did for most of this summer – until they got it wrong at the Oval.”
England will be without Ben Stokes for the first Test, set to begin on Monday, October 7, in Multan.
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