Interview of Saeed Anwar by Cricinfo in 1998

Cricinfo Interviewed Saeed Anwar on 5 January, 1998 via chat channel. In that interview Saeed Anwar express his thoughts and give same his reviews on different players and Pakistan’s preparations of 1999 World cup. He said in his opinion top batsmen of the world at that time were Inazamam Ul Haq, Mark Waugh and Arvinda Desilva on the basis of current session’s performance. For world Cup preparations he said Pakistan’s Preparations are excellent we have good bowling attack but we have to concentrate on batting that we are taking very seriously.

He says in term of spin bowlers Shane Warne, Saqlain Mushtaq, Anil Kumble, Pat Symcox and Muttiah Muralitharan are good but in my opinion Saqlain Mushtaq and Shane Warne are best. At that point of time he only needs 3 centuries to equal the record of Des Haynes’ of most centuries in ODIs. He said, he knows it but he is not looking for records and he is not playing for records he only cares about his and his team’s performance. In international cricket in those days in his opinion Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose, Allan Donald and Glen McGrath are the difficult bowlers to face. He said, he like batting at home but also feel good when he is batting in India and Australia. He said Pakistan lacking fitness if we compare them with other teams around the world but we are working on it and in near future it will be all right.

He said his goals are to win 1999 World Cup and beat South Africa in South Africa and always try to be positive and did not afraid of failure or never think of it. For youngsters three D’s are most important those three D’s are Dedication, Devotion and Determination. He said after retirement he will not be involved in cricket and he like playing both formats equally. He said, I personally like the batting of Brian Lara and he prefers the tours of Australia and South Africa because in these countries people are most aware and keen followers of cricket. He said Imran Khan was the major force that drive his carrier infect whole Pakistani Cricket team and his favorite shot is cut shot. He says his first priority is to play for Pakistan.

On sportsman ship he thinks Donald and Walsh are the good bowlers who avoid sledging while playing. He said the most disappointing moment in his carrier was not winning the 1996 world cup despite having a great team. He said Pakistan and India should play test matches on reciprocal basis like five in India and Five in Pakistan. He think separates teams for test and ODIs is not a good idea because in that some time team is inconsistent. He said his cricket is best in Sharjah because luck favors him and on the question on Hasan Raza he said he have a good talent but he need to work on his technique in order to become a good player and be successful in international level. At the end Cricinfo thanks Saeed Anwar for giving the interview.