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| September 26, 2003 | Friday | Rajab 28, 1424 |
Inzamam replaces Rashid as Pakistan captain
LAHORE, Sept 25: Inzamam-ul-Haq was named as Pakistan captain on Thursday for the forthcoming Test and one-day series against South Africa.
Leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed and middle-order batsman Faisal Iqbal also got the selectors’ nod in a 16-member squad announced for the five-match One-day International series, starting from Oct 3 at the Gaddafi Stadium.
The selectors also named a City Nazim XI for the Oct 1 day/ night practice match against the Proteas. This game was originally planned as Shoaib Mohammad’s benefit match and was to played at Karachi on Sept 24.
But after the change in itinerary, with all South African matches confined to the Punjab, Shoaib, the former Test opener, expressed his reluctance to hold the tie at Lahore.
Inzamam, who will also lead Pakistan in the one-day series against New Zealand later in the year, takes over the captaincy after Rashid Latif reportedly tendered his resignation on Wednesday without citing any reason.
Rashid, however, has been retained as the wicket-keeper.
When contacted by Dawn, chief selector Aamir Sohail said that it was the best available squad to face the formidable South Africans.
While replying to a question, he said he had completed the experiments of fielding different combinations in the series against Bangladesh and retained the best players for the South African series.
“The team has the potential to deliver the goods and I am hopeful it will give best results against the Proteas,” Aamir said.
Mushtaq, the veteran leg-spinner, deserved a place in the national side after being consistently overlooked in the past two years. His fine performance in the English county season for Sussex, which also earned him the ‘Player of the Season’ award, forced the selectors to recall him.
Mushtaq claimed 105 wickets to help Sussex win the county championship for the first time in their history.
Aamir, however, clarified that the actual reason for ignoring Mushtaq for so long was his persistent ankle injury. “Now Mushtaq has proved his fitness by bowling long spells in the English season. Therefore, he gets a chance to prove his worth.”
However, a press release issued by PCB quoted Aamir as saying: “Mushtaq has been recalled after his excellent performance in England. Although the opposition (in England) might not be as tough as the South Africans but, the great thing is that he is bowling well and taking a lot of wickets. There is no denying the fact that a lot is expected of him in the forthcoming series.”
To a question about Faisal’s inclusion in this series after being not considered against Bangladesh, Aamir said that Faisal had gained a place on his performance during Pakistan Academy team’s tour of South Africa last month.
“The selection was made purely on merit and the performance of each player was examined in different tournaments,” Aamir said.
Asked how he selected Imran Farhat in the reserves about whom he had been repeatedly saying the player had many technical flaws, Aamir said that Imran was selected for the camp only to check his progress
Asked why Saeed bin Nasir and Farhan Adil were not given a place in the reserves’ list, Aamir said they would be given a chance at an appropriate time.
Commenting on Rashid, Aamir said that Rashid had a lot to offer as a player and would help Inzamam a lot because he had been working with the young boys for the last five months and must had now understood the psyche of the boys.
“I am sure Inzamam will benefit from Rashid’s presence. Besides, there are no two opinions that Rashid is the best wicket-keeper in the country,” he said.
The availability of fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who went back to England to complete his season with Durham, considerably strengthens the bowling department which has the likes of Mohammad Sami, Shabbir Ahmed and Umar Gul along with the spin duo of Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq.
Meanwhile, a short training camp will start at the National Cricket Academy ground from Friday.
The squad for the five-match one-day series against South Africa with six stand-byes:
Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Younis Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Rashid Latif (wicket-keeper), Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Shabbir Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed, Faisal Iqbal, Salman Butt.
Reserves: Asim Kamal, Imran Farhat, Faisal Athar, Danish Kaneria, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Rauf.
City Nazim XI for Oct 1 practice match: Faisal Athar, Imran Farhat, Faisal Iqbal, Asim Kamal, Naved Latif, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Kamran Akmal, Sajid Shah, Najaf Shah, Wahab Riaz, Tariq Mahmood, Bilal Asad, Sohail Ahmed.
Later, Inzamam expressed the hope that his batsmen would not repeat the mistake they committed in the home series against Bangladesh.
Talking to reporters on Thursday soon after being appointed skipper in place of Rashid Latif, said that it would be a tough series and a real test for the batsmen against South Africa.
He said that the batsmen committed mistakes which allowed Bangladesh to dictate terms on many occasion during the recent series.
“I wish the batsmen will not repeat those mistakes as South Africa is much stronger outfit than Bangladesh,” he said.
Inzamam, who as stand-in captain in place of the banned Rashid led Pakistan to 5-0 win in the one-dayers, said that the bowlers also had to deliver and he hoped the bunch which was announced proved itself the best talent available in the country.
Inzamam said that he was not facing any captaincy pressure and it might be possible the captaincy enhanced his performance as a batsman.
“I may not have captained a lot but I have played under great captains Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Moin Khan and Rashid Latif and have certainly learnt a lot,” he said.
He said that he was delighted over being appointed the captain and said that the establishment had put faith in his abilities and he would put his best and would try to carry on the good work done by Rashid.
Inzamam said that he was happy that the leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed had been included in his squad.
“Mushtaq will extend me great help during the series because he has the potential to bowl out any side of the world ,” he added.
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