Umar Gul warns England, says ‘best yet to come’

Karachi: Recalled Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul, who tormented the English batting line up during the team’s tour in 2010, has warned the hosts, saying his best is yet to come.

Gul had picked up 12 wickets at an average of 21.25 in the five matches he played against England. He also returned back with the career best figures of [6-42] during that series.

“I do rate it as the best series but I still think my best is yet to come because when I look back at the good days I had during my career, it makes me feel very happy because I want to make Pakistan proud,” he was quoted as saying by the Dawn.

Gul, who is making a comeback to the ODI squad after a 16-month hiatus for the forthcoming series in Ireland and England, believes the team would put up strong performances in the coming days and improve its ICC One-day International (ODI) rankings so as to avoid playing qualifiers of the 2019 World Cup.

Before leaving for London, the 32-year-old said he was pretty sure that the team would improve their ranking before the cut-off date.

The right-arm pacer asserted that the team consists of some very good players and what they all need to do is just a little improvisation in their style of play in order to win matches regularly.

He insisted that just like the team bounced back in the recently concluded four-match Test series, Pakistan would do the same in the upcoming ODI series.

Gul, who is returning to the national squad after more than a year, said it was his sheer hard work which convinced the selectors.

Pakistan’s ODI squad: Azhar Ali (capt), Sharjeel Khan, Sami Aslam, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Hasan Ali, Imad Wasim, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Nawaz.(ANI)