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| September 2, 2005 | Friday | Rajab 27, 1426 |
Zaheer urges ICC for Inzamam’s inclusion
KARACHI, Sept 1: Zaheer Abbas, the former Pakistan captain and one of the finest batsmen of his era, has urged the game’s ruling body to include Inzamamul Haq in the World XI squads for next month’s Super Series in Australia.
Zaheer called upon the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday to reconsider Inzamam, the Pakistan skipper who was a surprise omission when the World teams were named last month, in case Sachin Tendulkar pulls out because of his slow recovery from a tennis elbow surgery.
Tendulkar, the 32-year-old Indian batting legend, withdrew from the forthcoming two-match Test series against Zimbabwe on Wednesday since he felt that he was not strong enough to return to the rigours of Test batting after undergoing the surgery in May.
Commenting on the latest developments, Zaheer told Dawn that since Tendulkar did not want to rush back in case the injury — which has laid him low for a year – troubles him again, it would be appropriate that Inzamam was picked for the matches against current world champions Australia.
“I think there can’t be a better replacement than Inzamam, who I think should have been in the World XI teams when the final selections were being made in the first place,” Zaheer said.
“One questions the criteria adopted by the ICC panel of selectors because Inzamam is one player who can just walk into the World XI side given his outstanding track record and more importantly, his current form,” he further stated.
Zaheer also questioned the ICC selection panel, headed by ex-Indian batting star Sunil Gavaskar, which also overlooked Inzamam’s credentials as a possible World XI captain.
“Purely on merit, Inzamam should not only be in the squad but also leading it because to my mind he is probably one of the most respected captains in world cricket these days who has established himself as a leader of men.
“Moreover, Inzamam captained Asia XI in the recent Afro-Asia Cup in South Africa. Had the ICC made the selections on sheer merit, Inzamam would have been the first-choice captain let alone a member of the playing squad.”
The ICC claimed that the selectors took into account the players’ overall career records in both Test and ODI cricket, their form in both forms of the game over the past 12 months and their overall playing records against Australia and their performances against the world champions in Australia.
“How could they (ICC selectors) fail to notice Inzamam’s records,” Zaheer queried. “And the most important thing is that Inzamam has worked diligently to stay at the top of his game by keeping himself very fit.”
Meanwhile, Zaheer predicted that England would be a difficult outfit when Pakistan host them this winter in a three-Test series and five One-day Internationals.
“The way England have been performing in the ongoing Ashes series against Australia, Pakistan face a task tough. The difference is that England are currently playing as a cohesive unit,” he opined.
Zaheer warned Pakistan should not take Michael Vaughan’s men lightly. “We should be adequately prepared to expect a hard series. In the conditions prevailing here, the English pace bowlers will make ample use of reverse swing. The Pakistani batsmen should concentrate on tackling that kind of bowling.”
Zaheer believed that only a fit and performing Shoaib Akhtar can make the real difference. “Provided Shoaib stays fit and in form, Pakistan can only benefit. But it will entirely depend on the man himself whether he is willing to be a team man when it comes to playing for Pakistan. At the end of the day, nobody is bigger than the game and the greatest platform is to give your best for the country,” he remarked.
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