The experienced left-arm pacer, Wahab Riaz believes that playing cricket in the UAE has been detrimental for Pakistan’s fast bowling unit. He said that UAE offers much more assistance to the spin bowlers and fast bowlers have struggled in the long run due to the conditions on offer in the country.
Wahab said that if Pakistan had been playing home matches in their own country, then he would have played more international cricket and the fast-bowling unit would have been much more potent. He added that the reliance on pace bowlers decreased exponentially and led to less fast bowlers coming out of the ranks.
“That period of playing home matches in UAE was detrimental to the careers of a lot of Pakistani pace-bowlers including me. But who knows what the future holds, there might yet be a few more international matches to come for me,” Wahab stated.
The 36-year old believes that he still has a role to play for Pakistan national team and is always available to play for his country if required. He said that it has been disappointing that he has not been considered for selection lately but he believes that only the selection committee knows exactly why he has not been picked.
Wahab said that he hopes that the selection committee has the best interest of Pakistan cricket and they make decisions keeping in mind the betterment of cricket in the country.
The express fast bowler is currently taking part in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and is hopeful of making a comeback to the national T20 side prior to the start of the T20 World Cup.
