KarachiPakistan promising left-arm paceman Junaid Khan, who has struggled to cement his place in the national side, is confident of making a comeback after recovering from a knee injury he sustained in October 2014.
During the One-Day International series against Australia in the United Arab Emirates in 2014, Khan twisted his knee and did not take part in the Test matches that followed.
Between his Test debut in 2011 and his knee injury in 2014, Khan played 18 Test matches and picked 65 wickets at an average of 28.83.
Khan made a comeback in the Test match against Bangladesh in April 2015 but in the four games since then he was only able to pick six wickets at 63.16 – a pale shadow of his former self.
Stating that it was disappointing to be out of the team after being one of the best bowlers for Pakistan in recent years, Khan is now confident with his current form.
Yes, its disappointing as I was one of Pakistans leading bowlers for three to four years, Khan told PakPassion.net in an exclusive interview.
Unfortunately though, when you get injured it takes a bit of time for you to regain your rhythm, especially for a bowler.
The best way to regain that rhythm is to play a lot of cricket and bowl lots of overs, but Ive not had as much match practice as I would have liked.
Having said that I feel that my form and rhythm are both coming back and Im confident about the future.”
Post-injury, Khan lacked the pace and the consistency that made him a key part of Pakistans attack and his last international appearance came in June 2015 against Sri Lanka in the Test series.
Admitting that his pace dropped after coming back from the injury, Khan said that it was an expected outcome as he did not want to rush his return.
However, Khan revealed that he is now able to cross the 140kph mark and is eager to prove his ability to his fans and critics.
I agree that when I came back from injury I wasnt bowling as quick as I used to, but that was to be expected. When you come back from injury, if you push yourself too much too soon, that can lead to problems.
But now I think I am bowling as quick as I ever have. Im bowling at about 140kph and sometimes more, the reverse-swing is there, as are the Yorkers so Im happy with my form. I think fitness, form and confidence all work in tandem.
You need all three to work in tandem. I am 110% sure that the old Junaid Khan is back and I will show that to my fans and critics whenever I get the chance to.
Khan captained the Pakistan A side in December 2015 against England Lions in the United Arab Emirates and lost the Twenty20 series 3-2.
The 26-year-old is slated to lead Pakistan A against England Lions in the upcoming five-match 50-overs series which begins on 20th January.
Hoping to utilise the series against England Lions as a platform to push for his national comeback, Khan stated that his main aim is to deliver a series win for Pakistan A.
Its an important series for both sets of players as Im sure all of the players will be looking to make the next step to international cricket or like myself, make a return to international cricket. England Lions will be well prepared as theyve been in UAE for a few weeks now.
The players who have been performing in domestic cricket recently have been picked by the Pakistani selectors so I think it will be a hard fought and a very close series.
My personal aims are to make sure that I help Pakistan A win the series first and foremost and that I perform well and enjoy the series.
Sometimes cricketers forget to enjoy their cricket but Ive told myself that I should enjoy playing cricket and then the performances will come.
In the T20 series against England Lions in December, Khan picked four wickets from the five games at an average of 30.50 and a best spell of three wickets for nine runs in the fourth game.
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