Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has said that the talk around spinner Usman Tariq’s bowling is a ‘psychological victory’ for the side.
“If we go inside the cricketing aspect, the hype created around Usman Tariq is another psychological victory for us. Right now, no one is talking about Babar Azam or any other player. People are talking only about Usman Tariq. He has played just one or two games for Pakistan, but just imagine the amount of panic he has created in the Indian camp. They are specifically practicing against him in their sessions,” Hafeez said, as quoted by India Today.
“How many times have you seen so much discussion about just one player? The entire media, the hype, the world, they are not only thinking about the match result, but about what Usman Tariq will do tomorrow,” said Hafeez.
Hafeez further suggested captain Salman Ali Agha to use Usman with an attacking mind set.
“Now I want to see how positively Salman Agha makes decisions as captain and how he uses Usman Tariq. If he uses him defensively, nothing will work for Pakistan. You need an attacking mindset when you use Usman Tariq. It could even be the sixth over, which I believe is always a very important over for a bowling unit — usually bowled by your most impactful bowler.”
India will be taking on Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2026 in Colombo on Sunday.
Addressing the press conference, ahead of the India vs Pakistan match on Sunday, Suryakumar Yadav talked about Tariq. “See, sometimes there is a question in the exam as well, which is out of syllabus. So, we can’t leave that question. To tackle that, you have to adopt your own way. Yes, he is a different character when he comes to bowl,” he said.
“But at the same time, we can’t just surrender. We practice with similar types of bowlers and similar actions. We will try to execute what we are practicing in the next sessions,” he added.
Calling him Pakistan’s trump card against India, Salman said: “For us, all the players are equal. You guys made Usman Tariq so big. For us, there are 15 players, and Usman is also there. Obviously, he has been bowling very well for the past few months. And he has also bowled very well in the league cricket he was playing before playing for Pakistan. And, yes, you can say that he is a trump card for us.”
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