RAWALPINDI: Pakistan batter Hasan Nawaz says being dropped from the national team forced him to return to the basics and helped restore his confidence after a difficult period of form.

Nawaz returned to domestic cricket after losing his place in the national side, playing on different grounds across Punjab while following a plan provided by head coach Mike Hesson and the coaching staff.

His efforts earned him a recall, and he made his comeback against India — the same opposition against whom he had struggled before being dropped.

Although Pakistan lost the match, Nawaz said his performance against the world’s top-ranked team had given him renewed confidence.

“When I was dropped from the team, Mike and other coaches gave me a plan, which I worked on,” Nawaz told reporters at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

“I returned to basics and played with local cricketers on different grounds across Punjab.”

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The Pakistan batter said playing on local grounds against unfamiliar bowlers was an important part of his preparation.

“As far as local grounds are concerned, there you get tough pitches and play different bowlers,” he said.

“I think we all should play cricket there, and when you get a good pitch, it becomes easy to perform.”

Nawaz said his comeback against India was particularly significant because his previous international spell had ended after struggling against the same team.

“I think I was dropped while underperforming against India, and I made a comeback against the same opposition,” he said.

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Pakistan Fall Short Against India

Pakistan were unable to turn Nawaz’s return into a winning result, losing the Asian Games final to India by 19 runs.

Nawaz described the defeat as disappointing but acknowledged that Pakistan had failed to capitalise on important moments.

“We couldn’t win the match, which was a sad feeling,” he said.

“It was a close game, we lost it by making some silly mistakes.”

Despite the defeat, Nawaz believes performing against India can provide an important confidence boost given their current position in international cricket.

“There is no hiding that they are the number one team in the world currently, and performing against them gives me a lot of confidence,” he said.

Nawaz added that he travelled to Japan after featuring in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) with a strong desire to contribute to Pakistan.

“When I was on my way to Japan after playing the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), I had the motivation to do something for the country,” he said.

“But some mistakes cost us the game.”