Ajmal keen to 'shine' in County Championship to prepare for 2015 World Cup

Karachi, Apr 18 (ANI): Veteran Pakistani off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is reportedly set to make a positive impact during his county stint in Worcestershire in the County Championship Division-II in order to make up for his poor performance in the World Twenty20. Ajmal, who is currently waiting to receive a NOC from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to fly to England, will likely receive the certificate once the schedule of the series against Sri Lanka is finalised, in time to play Worcestershire's third match from April 27-30. According to the Express Tribune, Ajmal is raring to accept the challenge of bowling in tough conditions in England whose weather is different from the sub-continent in order to prepare himself for the 50-over 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where the pitches are not spin-friendly similar to England. Ajmal, who has taken 169 wickets in 33 Tests and 182 wickets in 110 ODIs, further said that international cricket is becoming demanding for bowlers because of the fast-paced T20 format, while they hardly receive any respite in ODIs as well due to field changes. Ajmal further said that batsmen nowadays rarely respect any bowler since they have the licence to go all out in the shorter format of the game, adding that bowlers have to make extra effort to make their presence count. (ANI)