Aamir Sohail cautions ‘euphoric’ Abid Ali

Former cricketer Aamir Sohail has cautioned Pakistan opener Abid Ali to not get carried away after a brilliant start to his Test career in the recently concluded home series against Sri Lanka.

Abid, nicknamed "legend" in Pakistan´s dressing room, hit 174 in the second innings of Karachi Test for his second hundred in as many Tests, becoming the first Pakistani and ninth batsmen overall to score two centuries in his first two Tests.

In his blog for pakpassion.net, the former cricketer advised the 32-year-old to keep working on improving his skills.

“What a breath of fresh air Abid Ali has been for Pakistan but at this point I will sound a note of warning and say that sooner or later, he will be worked out by the opposition,” said Sohail. “I have no doubt that he has the temperament and the skill as he showed with the two centuries he scored in the Test series against Sri Lanka. However, what he has to do now is get over the euphoria of his current success and be truthful to himself. He needs to ask himself about what areas he should improve upon.”

“If Abid can do his self-appraisal, then the technique and temperament he has will take him a long way forward,” he added.

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The 53-year-old also appreciated middle-order batsman Babar Azam for continuing his rich vein of form against Sri Lanka.

“To me Babar Azam is a great example of a player who we are seeing evolve into a fine batsman in front of our eyes,” he said. “He keeps on improving and learning every time he plays but what I would like him to do is to figure out a way of going out there and staying longer at the wicket, all the while not sacrificing his urge to attack the bowlers.”

Sohail concluded with urging Bangladesh to tour Pakistan for their scheduled Test series as a way to reciprocate Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for their help in getting Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) the Test status.