Skipper Salman Ali Agha on Saturday defended the unorthodox action of Usman Tariq and and termed the 'pause and sling' off-spinner as the "trump card" of Pakistan against India on a tacky Premadasa pitch in the T20 World Cup match here on Sunday. Tariq showed his prowess with a three-wicket haul against the United States of America, albeit at the neighbouring Sinhalese Sports Club, and the 27-year-old could be doubly dangerous on a slower RPICS track.

"Usman is one among our 15 players, we treat him like that. You (media) people have made him big. He has been bowling very well," Agha initially tried to downplay the hype around Tariq in the pre-match press meet here on Saturday. But as the questions persisted on Tariq, Agha admitted that the off-spinner is indeed his side's primary weapon against the arch-rivals, whose batting line-up is filled with power-hitters. "He has been bowling very well for the past few months. And he has also bowled very well in the league cricket (Pakistan Super League) he was playing before playing for Pakistan. And yes, you can say that he is a trump card for us," Agha added. Questions have been raised about the unusual pause-and-deliver action of Tariq, but Agha did not read too much into those comments. "He doesn't care about these things. Since the time he has started cricket, these talks have been going on about him. He doesn't care about these things. The guy has been cleared twice and he has done whatever ICC said and whatever it requires to bowl in international cricket.