Pakistan cricket team coach Waqar Younis has branded towering paceman Mohammad Irfan as the squad's 'X-factor' and hinted that they can play leg-spinner Yasir Shah in their World Cup quarterfinal tie against Australia on Friday as the seamer has been ruled out of the tournament with a stress fracture of his pelvis.
Irfan suffered a fracture to his hip bone and was ruled out of the remaining World Cup matches, including Pakistan's quarterfinal tie against four-time champions Australia at the Adelaide Oval.
Younis said that it is unfortunate that they lost Irfan just at the wrong time, adding that he had been an 'X factor' for them but insisted that they have got to live with it, The Dawn reported.
Pakistan's preparations for the World Cup were badly hit when their ace spinner Saeed Ajmal was suspended due to an illegal bowling action in September last year and got worse when spinning all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez was also banned for his action before he injured his calf while pacemen Junaid Khan had to be withdrawn from the 15-man squad a month before the start of the World Cup with a leg injury.
Younis did not rule out playing leg-spinner Shah in place of Irfan on Friday. Shah took 12 wickets in Pakistan's 2-0 Test series win over Australia in the United Arab Emirates last year, which was their first win over the opponents for 20 years.
Younis said that they have discussed Shah but they would look at the pitch and if it's conducive then they would see how it goes, adding that he was not worried about facing a tough opponent like Australia.
Younis said that they are in a situation where they cannot worry too much, adding that they need to go out and do the best they can, insisting that it's a big game, a quarterfinal of the World Cup and they all are very pleased to be here.
