In a teleconference set up by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Test opener Abid Ali stated that the team is used to playing without their fans, and that they will simply look to their UAE experience of playing in empty stadiums.
“The conditions are going to be challenging during the tour due to the Covid-19 outbreak,” said Abid. “While the hosts will suffer more since the home fans wouldn’t be in attendance, Pakistan have enjoyed good support from the crowd in England with a large number of Pakistanis settled in England.
“It is unfortunate for the fans, and for us. But we’ve played at empty stadiums for the last several years in the UAE.”
Pakistan is unable to train at home due to COVID-19, and will be practicing once they reach England, ahead of schedule.
Abid Ali also gave his opinion on the discussion, stating, “It will help us plan better after looking at the conditions there. We will also have a chance to look at England during their series against the West Indies [which precedes the Pakistan series] so all that will hopefully help us.”
Even though Abid Ali is a record holder (he is the only batsman to score a century on both his Test and ODI debuts), he has been the victim of the flawed selection policy in the past. However, now he is eager to learn from the coaches as well as move on to playing the best he can.
“We have the best coaches in [head coach cum chief selector] Misbah-ul-Haq and [batting coach] Younis Khan, who have played well in English conditions so we will learn from their experiences,” he said. “I’ve made peace with the past. Now, I’m only looking the future and focusing on delivering my best for the national team.”
Do you think that Abid Ali is right – will Pakistan be able to handle an empty stadium without getting demotivated, or will the UAE-like experience bring down the morale and the performance of the team? Let us know in the comments!
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