Pakistan vice-captain Yousuf Youhana has acknowledged that he was troubled by young Indian pacer Irfan Pathan's swing bowling in the recent cricket series but denied that the bowler gained a psychological hold.
"You should accept and respect a good bowler. Yes, I did face problems against Pathan bringing the ball in late. He got me out twice in this manner while the third time in the one-dayers I was not out. But I worked hard on this and did reasonably well against him in the Tests. It is not as if he has any psychological hold over me," Youhna told a private TV channel in Islamabad.
Pathan, who established himself as a strike bowler in the series, was earlier labelled by Pakistan coach Javed Miandad as the kind of bowler found in the bylanes of Pakistan.
Looking back at Pakistan's defeat both in one-dayers and Tests in the March-April series, Youhana disagreed that the home team was badly beaten by India.
"I think we did well in the one-day series. But yes in the final Test we lost by a big margin and our performance was very shoddy. But I hope we can learn from our mistakes and improve," he said.
He also defended the Pakistan bowlers and said they tried their best.
"They tried hard but they just could not bowl as they wanted to. No bowler likes to bowl badly on purpose. It is just that they were trying but were not succeeding," he said.
"The batting did quite well except in Pindi. But I think the big margins by which we lost the Tests in Multan and Pindi soured our overall performance in the series.
Youhana said Pakistan had some good players but they would need some more time to fully establish themselves. He said, right now, the pressure on the batting was being carried by Inzamam and himself.
"Look, when you lose players of the calibre of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar and Rashid Latif in one go, you do face problems in adjustments. It happens with every team. It is happening with Pakistan. We can become world beaters but people need to be a little patient with us," he said.
Interestingly, Youhana described controversial cricketer and former captain Rashid Latif as the best skipper he had played under.
"Rashid was a very cool and composed captain. He never panicked or started shouting or abusing the players if a catch was dropped or if a player didn't perform. He was very composed and realised that no player drops a catch or does not perform intentionally and that everyone wants to do well," he said.
Rashid currently face disciplinary action from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for making unsubtantiated charges of match fixing during the India-Pak series.
Youhana also acknowledged, that the current skipper Inzamam-ul Haq is a also a cool captain.
"My present captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is in the same category, he is also very composed and carries himself well. Throughout the series against India I didn't see him ruffled or lose his cool even once. He is a good captain."
Youhana also credited Latif for giving him enough chances when he made his debut for Pakistan in 1998 against South Africa.
"I failed in my first Test in Durban. But I was not worried because Rashid had told me in advance that he would give a specific number of matches to prove myself and the rest was my fate," he recalled.
He also praised Mianadad saying he always idolised the batting legend.
"Pakistan has produced many quality batsmen but I always idolised Miandad because he was the complete batsman who played some memorable innings for Pakistan at every level. I think his record speaks for itself. He could innovate and change the flow of a match," he said.
On the selectors' decision to drop Saeed Anwar after the 2003 World Cup despite his good showing and his subsequent retirement, Youhana candidly said Saeed could have played one or two years more in Test cricket.
"I don't know what reasoning the selectors had but I personally feel Saeed bhai could have played for a while in Test cricket. He was a superb batsman with lot of quality. You don't find replacements for him just like that," he said.
